


Mislabelled

by XpaperplaneX



Series: Toy 'Verse [2]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon, Brain Injury, Friendship, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Violence, References to Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-08
Updated: 2011-05-02
Packaged: 2017-10-17 22:31:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/181980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XpaperplaneX/pseuds/XpaperplaneX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sequel to Handle With Care. Cloud and Sephiroth have adjusted to their roles as toy and owner, but life isn't always easy, even with each other. Dealing with the past and the present can be a rough ride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Flower Girl

**Author's Note:**

> I did it! Mislabelled is almost twice as long as HWC, and there are still a few bits poking at my brain. At least two side-stories and an alternate ending that I couldn't bring myself to make the official one, but I really want to write anyways. Riiiceballe on FF.net won the guess what the title will be contest without even knowing there was a contest. (I didn't know there was a contest either, so there's no prize, sorry.)
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is a bit of back story and fun, then it's on to the nittier, grittier stuff.

Sephiroth woke up shaking and covered in a cold sweat; Mother's screams were still ringing through his ears. That dream had been far too realistic. The thing in his arms stirred and made a soft, whimpering noise. That was... Cloud! He was squeezing him too tightly!

"I'm sorry, Cloud," he murmured softly, hoping he hadn't disturbed him. It was too late, though, his chocobo rolled over and opened his eyes.

"Are you okay, Sephiroth?"

"Uh huh. Did I damage you? I didn't mean to squeeze you like that."

"I'm fine. What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Cloud sat up and brushed a few strands of hair out of Sephiroth's face, looking concerned.

"Yeah," Sephiroth muttered, feeling embarrassed. He knew he shouldn't be, his toy never laughed at him for stuff like that, but he shouldn't have disturbed him. Cloud needed his downtime to recharge. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. I'll be right back, okay?" Cloud slipped out of bed and padded out of the room. He returned a few minutes later with a mug and handed it to Sephiroth before crawling back into the bed and snuggling up next to him. "Drink that. Do you want to talk about the nightmare? That sometimes makes people feel better, I've heard."

Sephiroth sipped at the drink Cloud had gotten for him and held his toy close. It was tempting to talk about it; he really wondered what Cloud would think of what happened sometimes. If he thought he had made the right decision. "I should let you rest."

"Don't worry about that, I can take an extra nap tomorrow if I need it. Remember, Zack told you it's all right if I nap."

"He did?"

"Yeah, it was a long time ago though, just a little while after you got me. You were worried that there was something wrong because I kept falling asleep while you were doing your paperwork."

"Right, I remember." Zack had told him that Clouds like to get in recharge time when they can and that it was nothing to be concerned about. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I like to know about the things that upset you, too. It helps me be a better toy."

Sephiroth nodded slowly. "I... I was dreaming about Nibelheim." The fragments of his dream were already slipping away, but he didn't really want to talk about that, anyways. He wanted to talk about the real Nibelheim and hoped Cloud wouldn't mind. He didn't think he would.

"You dream about Nibelheim a lot," Cloud said.

"Yeah... it was... it was a bad place. We were sent there on a mission, only it wasn't right."

"Why wasn't it right?"

"I... I think... oh! I remember. Only Genesis and I and some troopers were supposed to go, but at the last minute, Angeal said that he and his student would come too. That was Zack."

"Why did they come?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I think maybe for extra training for Zack. We fought a Nibel dragon on the way there."

"So what happened when you got there? What made it bad?"

"There was... Mother," Sephiroth's voice hitched and he couldn't talk for a moment. He still... talking about her was still hard. Cloud sat patiently and rubbed his back until he felt like talking again. "She... she confused me, I think. I remember feeling really angry at everyone. I wanted to kill everyone. Destroy them..." His voice trailed off and Sephiroth stared at the messy spikes on Cloud's head, distracting himself.

"But you didn't. Why not?"

"I... Genesis, I think. He said that I belonged with him, not Mother. I don't know. I think he said something more convincing than that. But we decided that M—Mother should be – that we should kill her." He felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes and tried to hold them back, but Cloud was already reaching up to brush them away. "Everyone said that she was bad, but..."

"If she was making you feel like you wanted to kill everyone, she was probably bad. But it hurt, didn't it?"

Sephiroth nodded. "She was – I had never – a mother."

"I understand." Cloud hugged him tightly. "But you needed to destroy her, didn't you?"

"I did it. I... it hurt. It hurt so much, like... like my mind was being ripped apart." Sephiroth rubbed his temples; just thinking about it was painful, even now. Cloud gently pushed his hands aside and began massaging them himself, leaving Sephiroth's arms free to hug his toy. The pain eventually faded away, but Sephiroth had had enough talking about it. "Can we go back to sleep now?"

"Sure we can." Cloud kissed each temple and then lay back down, letting Sephiroth curl himself around him. "I love you, Sephiroth. You know that, right?"

"I know." Cloud told him a lot, but it was a nice reminder that he wasn't alone anymore. "I love you, too."

***

"What's this?" Cloud was sitting on the floor in his office, going through one of the bottom drawers of the desk. He had said it was about time he organised their desk.

Sephiroth glanced down, always happy for a distraction from what he was supposed to be doing. "That was from when I had my flower." He reached out and took the delicate glass vase from Cloud, thinking of the pretty flower it had once held.

"You had a flower?" Cloud pulled himself up off the floor and climbed onto Sephiroth's lap.

"I did! A girl in the slums gave it to me after I killed some monsters there. I don't remember who gave me the vase for it. She was really nice. She thanked me and said to wait a minute, and then she came back with a flower for me. It was so pretty. I kept it until it rotted and the cleaning people took it away."

"Wow, I heard it's really hard to find flowers in Midgar. You're pretty lucky."

"Yeah, I was sad when it was gone, though."

"If you ever get another one, I can show you how to dry it, if you'd like. Dried flowers don't rot, so you can keep them a long time."

"Really?" Sephiroth felt himself getting excited at the possibility of having a flower that wouldn't rot. "I'll look for her again. She was nice; she'd probably give me another one."

"I'm sure she would if you asked nicely. Do you remember what sector you were in when you met her?"

Sephiroth frowned, thinking hard. "I was... I remember seeing that big hole in the wall, do you know the one?"

Cloud shook his head. "I've never been below the plate."

Right. Cloud was built here; he never would have had an opportunity or a reason to go below. "I'll look around there. I want to find her again."

***

Sephiroth trudged down the hall to his office, disappointed again. That had been his third mission to the slums since he had decided to look for the girl with the flowers and he still couldn't find her. It didn't help him that they hardly gave him any time to look around after he was done with the missions. Maybe Cloud could ask Lazard to let him have some time afterwards on the next one. Cloud would probably have better luck that he would. After all, it had been Cloud who had convinced them to let him carry Masamune again. The sheath for it was pretty nice too, and the safety catch only slowed him down enough to think about why he was drawing it. It was a good compromise. He didn't want to accidentally damage Cloud because he was startled, after all. Damage from Masamune would definitely be irreparable.

Cloud was sitting at their desk, as usual, when he came in, writing something. He often wrote what looked like letters, though he never said who he was sending them to. Not that it mattered; Cloud could do what he wanted. What mattered was that no matter how bad a mission had been, or how down he was feeling, Cloud was always waiting for him when he got back and was always happy to see him and willing to cheer him up.

"Hey!" Cloud looked up and put his pen down. "How did it go?"

"I didn't find her." Unlike with everyone else, Sephiroth never had to explain what he was talking about to Cloud. It felt like he had told everyone else about the flower girl a thousand times and they _still_ didn't remember.

"That's too bad. Where were you today?"

"Sector four, but... Cloud, can you ask Lazard if he'll let me have some extra time after the missions to look for her? The drivers and Turks are always telling me to hurry up and get back after the mission is done. I'll never find her like this."

"Sure I can. I'll go do that right now, if you'd like." Cloud put his letter away in his drawer and hopped up, smiling at him. "I think Lazard's just started agreeing to everything when he sees me coming; I won't be long."

"Thank you." Sephiroth sat down and waited anxiously for Cloud to come back. He was pretty sure Cloud was right; he hardly yelled anymore and Sephiroth never had to be his 'backup', as Cloud put it.

Barely twenty minutes passed before Cloud was back, grinning. "You have an hour after each mission to look and still get a ride home. Is that okay?"

Sephiroth nodded, perfectly happy with that. "That's lots of time."

"Good. Have you asked anyone you meet down there if they know her? Someone who grows flowers is bound to be pretty well-known."

"I've tried, but people avoid me when they see me."

"Hmm... what do you look like when you try to talk to them?" Cloud climbed into his lap and sat with his legs hanging over the armrest.

"I look like me." Sephiroth was puzzled by the question, but knew that that probably wasn't what Cloud meant.

"No, I mean, it's right after a mission, right? So you're probably messy. See, you've got some blood on your pauldron." Cloud pointed to a rather large splattering of blood that must have been from some monster. "Do you put Masamune back in her sheath before you go up to them?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "Should I?"

"It would help a lot, I think. If people see a complete stranger coming up to them, covered in blood and holding a sword, they're going to be scared and run away."

Sephiroth frowned. "Right... people are scared of me."

"It's not _you_ , Sephiroth," Cloud said vehemently. "They'd be scared of Zack if he did that. They'd be scared of me if I did that. It's not you. They just don't know that you won't hurt them. Understand?"

"They'd be scared of you?" Sephiroth had a hard time believing that. Cloud was too cute to be scary.

"You bet they would! If I can scare Lazard, I can scare some random strangers. So how about you try bringing a clean jacket that you can change into and putting Masamune away, then try talking to people. I think you'll get a lot more help that way."

"Okay, I'll do that. I still don't think you'd scare people." Sephiroth leaned down and licked the tip of Cloud's nose, making him discolour. Chocobo toys just weren't scary, even if they were bloody.

***

"Excuse me?" Sephiroth approached the young woman with his hands where she could see him, like Cloud had said to do. "Do you have a moment? I'm looking for someone."

The woman looked a bit surprised, but she didn't run away, or even look scared. That was a good start. "Sure, what do you need?"

Sephiroth almost forgot what he was going to say, he was so surprised that the woman had actually spoken to him. But he got himself under control. "I'm looking for a girl, she was wearing a blue dress when I met her, but that was a while ago, and she has brown hair. She gave me a flower; she said she grows them. Do you know a girl who grows flowers?"

"What do you want with her?" The woman narrowed her eyes at him. Cloud had said not to be hurt if people didn't trust him. Lots of people in the slums don't trust people from Shin-Ra. It wasn't _him_.

"She gave me a flower when I first met her, but it died," he explained. "I wanted to ask her if I could have another one. I liked it a lot."

"You just want a flower?"

"Yes. It was really pretty. I kept it in a vase on my desk."

The woman seemed to consider him for a few moments, so Sephiroth waited patiently and hoped he looked trustworthy. He had cleaned himself up nicely after the mission; his driver had told him he looked okay. Eventually she nodded. "If you go south from here, staying on this road, you'll come across a big church on your left after about fifteen minutes. She's usually in there this time of day. Her name's Aerith."

"Aerith... Thank you very much, ma'am." Sephiroth held out his hand, smiling broadly.

She hesitantly held out her hand and Sephiroth caught it, shaking it enthusiastically. "Just... you'd better not be lying to me."

"I'm not. I promise. I'm going to learn how to dry it and Cloud says it will last forever that way." Not wanting to waste any more time, Sephiroth took off down the street, barely keeping himself from shouting for joy. He was so close!

The church was easy to find, but the big doors were mostly shut and Sephiroth hesitated in front of them. What if she wasn't there? What if she said he couldn't have a flower? Was he supposed to knock, or could he just go right in? What if he said or did the wrong thing and scared her? He couldn't do this. He needed Cloud. Cloud would know what he was supposed to do and say.

He found himself backing away from the doors and stumbled when he reached the steps. Dejected, he sat down, wondering if maybe he could call Cloud and someone could bring him to him. Sephiroth took out his phone; Cloud would make someone take him down here if he asked. He wouldn't be annoyed, either, Sephiroth was sure, but... it felt like a silly thing to bother him with.

"Are you lost?" A pretty voice spoke behind him and Sephiroth whipped his head around.

"It's you!" he shouted, forgetting his nervousness. "You're the flower girl!"

The girl looked a bit startled as she backed up a few steps. "You remember me?"

Right, he was supposed to be calm when he spoke to her. No shouting. "Yes, I was on a mission and I killed some monsters down here and you gave me a flower to thank me."

"I remember. You're pretty unforgettable. Did you need something?"

"I... I wanted to ask you if I could please have another flower. The old one died and got taken away, but my chocobo says that if I get another flower, he'll show me how to dry it."

"Your chocobo? Don't chocobos eat flowers?"

"I don't know... he's a toy chocobo, not a real one... and I've never seen him eat a flower." Cloud wouldn't eat his flower... would he?

"Well, if you haven't seen him eat flowers, maybe he won't. I'll go get you one, okay?"

"Okay! I'll wait here!" Sephiroth bounced nervously on his toes while the girl disappeared into the church. He was going to get a new flower! He hoped it would be as pretty as the last one.

"I've never seen anyone so excited about a flower before." The girl came back out, holding the prettiest flower he had ever seen. "Here you go."

"Thank you!" Sephiroth took the flower delicately, holding it with both hands. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," she said, laughing lightly. "Do you think you can find me again if you ever need another one?"

"Umm..." Sephiroth glanced around. There wasn't much recognisable other than the church. He knew which way he had to go to get back to where he had been, but that hadn't been very long ago.

"Well, if you ask anyone where you can find Aerith's church, they should be able to point you in the right direction. And you can just come right in. No need to sit out on the steps or anything."

Sephiroth nodded. "Okay. I'll remember that. And I'll tell Cloud. He's better at remembering than me. Cloud's my chocobo," he added. Aerith wouldn't know who Cloud was.

"That's good that you've got Cloud to help you remember." Aerith smiled at him. She was so nice.

"It is. I love Cloud. I should go now. Thank you for the flower."

"All right. You take care, okay?"

"I will. You too." Sephiroth ran back to the transport, shielding his flower from the wind. He couldn't wait to show it to Cloud; he'd be so happy.

***

"Cloud! Cloud! Cloud! I found her! I got it! Cloud, come look!" Sephiroth's voice got louder as his heavy boots thundered down the hall. Cloud heard a few shouts of protest; Sephiroth was probably barreling into people as he went. He set his book down and jogged over to the door, excited to see what sort of flowers you could grow in Midgar.

He opened the office door in time to see one last SOLDIER dodge out of Sephiroth's path. "That's great, Sephiroth. Let's see!"

Sephiroth ground to a halt and put his hands behind his back. "You... you don't eat flowers, do you? She said that chocobos eat flowers."

Cloud reined in his giggle and smiled. He supposed that could cause concern. "No, I don't eat flowers. Even if I did, I wouldn't eat your flower without asking first."

A huge smile spread across Sephiroth's face. "Okay! I didn't think you would, but I thought I should check first."

"So can I see?"

Sephiroth brought his hands out from behind his back and held out a pretty flower with yellow petals that faded into white at the tips. "Isn't it nice? I remembered to say 'please' and everything."

"It's really nice, Sephiroth. Wow, I had no idea you could get a flower like that here."

"Oh, you need to remember that the girl's name is Aerith and if I want to find her again, I need to ask someone where to find Aerith's church."

"Okay, I can do that. She was nice?" Cloud took Sephiroth by the arm and urged him into their office. They were disturbing everyone else.

"Yeah, she was really nice. I got all nervous when I found the church, but she came out and talked to me."

"That was nice of her. Maybe you could take me to meet her someday."

"Yeah! I should do that! I told her about you. I told her that you would show me how to dry the flower."

"That's right, should we do that now? We just need a string."

"Yes! Let's do it now! I'll go find a string." Sephiroth carefully handed the flower to Cloud and ran back out of the office. Cloud chuckled as he heard him bursting into offices, demanding string. The company could survive a slightly disrupted afternoon; it wasn't very often that Sephiroth had something to get this excited about.

***

"Did you call Angeal yet today?" Cloud asked, perched on the corner of their desk and watching Sephiroth examine the flower hanging from the ceiling.

"Not yet. He's probably wondering."

Cloud held out the phone to Sephiroth, grinning. Maybe it was a little bit mean, to encourage Sephiroth this much, but Angeal deserved it. He abandoned his friend for nearly two years. A daily status update on a drying flower wouldn't kill him. He knew Lazard was starting to get some flack about Sephiroth's distraction, and it would eventually begin to trickle down, but he'd deflect it for as long as he could. The man deserved some happiness, even if everyone else thought it was stupid. Besides, the flower would be dry soon enough, and it wasn't like Sephiroth wasn't doing his missions; it was just when he was in the office that he was pretty much useless.

"...and I went shopping and we got a glass box for it so it wouldn't get dusty because Cloud says they're really delicate when they're dry, so you have to be careful."

Sometimes, just sometimes, he _almost_ felt sorry for Angeal. They got the box a week ago and Angeal had heard about it every day since then. And as long as Angeal continued to sound like he was glad to hear about it, Cloud would continue to almost feel sorry for him. It seemed fair. At any rate, it kept Sephiroth's mind off more troubling things; he hadn't had a single nightmare since he got the flower. It wouldn't last forever, but for now, it was pretty nice.

Cloud hopped up and went over to Sephiroth to give him a quick hug. "I'm just going to go grab a snack," he whispered, not wanting to interrupt Angeal's torture. Sephiroth nodded distractedly and gave Cloud a pat on the head.

"Is it safe?" A SOLDIER Cloud thought he recognised accosted him when he got two doors down.

"Huh? Oh, you mean... go quick. He's on the phone, so he probably won't notice you."

"Thank you. I would, but I just don't have time right now." The SOLDIER scurried past their office door, ducking down so he'd have a better chance of not being seen.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Cloud spun on his heel and flashed a big grin a Zack. "A little. I never claimed I'm not petty."

"Evil's more like it. Don't _you_ get sick of it?" Zack followed him towards the kitchen.

Cloud shrugged. "It's mostly just at the office, when he can see it right there, that he gets so excited. At home we've got movies to watch, and we're reading a really good book right now, so it's not all about the flower. It'll be dry soon and we'll put it in the box and then he'll calm down."

"Can't you... I mean, he's not the best at controlling his emotions on his own, but can't you rein him in a little?"

"Why should I?" Cloud glared as he grabbed a drink out of the fridge. "He's not hurting anyone. He's happy. I like it when he's happy."

"Yeah, but..."

"But what? I don't let him capture anyone for longer than five minutes. If they can't handle five minutes of bullshitting about how pretty they think a flower is, they shouldn't be able to call themselves SOLDIER. You know, _you_ haven't been in yet today, Mr Fair." Cloud held out his arm. "Shall we?"

"I hate you."

"Don't let Sephiroth hear you say that." Cloud grinned and dragged Zack back to the office to ooh and ah. "Sephiroth! Zack wants to see how the flower's doing!"


	2. Regression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the reviews! This chapter is significantly less fun than the last, but I hope you still enjoy it.

"There." Cloud put the last pin in place and shut the lid on the box. "What do you think?"

"It's perfect! Can we put it on the desk so I can see it while I work?"

"You bet. It'll look really nice here by your nameplate."

"Thank you, Cloud." Sephiroth sat down and pulled Cloud into his lap, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Cloud grinned at the gesture; it had taken nearly five months for Sephiroth to kiss him, though he had let Cloud kiss him ever since Angeal and Genesis came to visit. He had noticed Sephiroth struggling with the issue, and had been trying to figure out how to best explain that platonic kisses were all right, when Sephiroth had had enough and dragged him to Zack's office. The look on Zack's face when Sephiroth had tried to explain that he wanted to give his Cloud kisses to show that he loved him, but he didn't want to damage him, had been truly picture-worthy. Cloud was glad they got it sorted out, though. Sephiroth's kisses were the best.

"Can we have mashed potatoes with dinner tonight?" Sephiroth asked.

"Sure, whatever you'd like." Cloud had been planning on a chicken caesar salad, which wouldn't go well with that at all, but he could do something different. He was still so impressed at how much Sephiroth had been improving. Not so long ago, he never would have been able to think that he wanted potatoes, and specifically mashed potatoes, without seeing something that reminded him of it first. Dinner plans could be changed to celebrate progress like that. Even if he was the only one who realised they were celebrating.

There was a knock on the door and a trooper poked his head in. "Orders for you, sir."

"Give them here, Private." Sephiroth held out his hand and Cloud waggled his eyebrows at the surprised trooper. He was used to getting stared at by the regular army, but it was still fun to tease them a little.

The trooper handed over the papers and scurried out of the room, still side-eying Cloud. Just as he was sitting up to see what the orders were, Sephiroth dropped them on the floor as he stood suddenly, carrying Cloud with him. He grabbed Cloud's sweater off the coat rack and wrapped it around him, then headed for the door.

"Sephiroth? What's – Don't you want Masamune?" Cloud attempted to adjust himself in Sephiroth's arms and hugged him, not understanding what had set him off, but hoping it wasn't anything serious.

"I want to go home," Sephiroth said with a definite quaver in his voice.

"Okay. Okay, we can go home. Masamune's fine here." He rubbed Sephiroth's back as he was carried down the hall to the elevators. His sweater dropped off his shoulders as they went, but Sephiroth didn't notice. It didn't matter; it was too warm to be wearing a sweater anyways. Sephiroth just worried about the cold.

"I want – I want to go home, Cloud. Now! I –" Sephiroth started pacing back and forth in front of the elevators and glancing around like he expected someone to jump out and attack him. Cloud took his chance as Sephiroth walked past and kicked at the down button. He missed, but a SOLDIER standing nearby got the hint and rushed over to press the button for them.

"I know. It's okay. The elevator's coming. We're going home, right now."

"Are you okay?" The SOLDIER who had pushed the button was looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine," Cloud said quietly. "We just need to go home. Please tell Zack." He knew other people worried about him when Sephiroth would get upset – Cloud knew he used to lash out violently before he came along – but no matter how bad it was, he never hurt Cloud. The biggest risk was him accidently squeezing a bit too tightly. There was nothing to worry about.

"Cloud! Home! I – go home!" Sephiroth's arms had begun shaking badly.

"I know, Sephiroth. We're going home. The elevator's almost here. Shh, it's okay. Look, it's here. Let's go home." They got on, and the SOLDIER leaned around the door and pressed the first floor button for them as Sephiroth seemed to be trying to make himself disappear into the far corner.

***

"Sephiroth? Sephiroth, please talk to me. I need you to use your words, so I can help you." Cloud stroked his beautiful hair while Sephiroth sucked on the fingers of his other hand. Cloud felt like crying himself; Sephiroth had been freaking out for over two hours and he was only getting worse. The pacing and shaking had stopped, which was good, but now he was collapsed on the floor, unable to even form words, let alone string a sentence together. He was just sitting there, crying and sucking on Cloud's hand like a child would do with a toy.

"What did the papers say?" Cloud tried again. He'd keep trying until he got an answer. "Who were they from? Umm... is it a mission you have to go on?" Maybe yes or no questions would be better.

Sephiroth gave a tiny shake of his head and whimpered. Well, that was something. Now he just had to figure out what questions to ask.

Sephiroth's PHS rang as he was wracking his brain and Cloud grabbed it. What had taken Zack so long? "Hello?"

"Cloud, shit, I'm sorry, I was out on a mission. Sephiroth's upset?"

"I've never seen him this bad before, Zack. Please, can you go to our office and look on the floor by the desk. He got orders right before he freaked out, but I didn't see what they were for." Cloud sniffled, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "I can't help him like this, Zack. I need to know what's wrong."

"He won't tell you?"

"No, he can't even form words right now. Please, just go look for the papers."

"I'm looking, I'm looking, hang on."

"Sorry, I – I'm just wo—worried."

"I understand, kiddo. How long's it been?"

"Forever, Zack! It's been for fucking ever! Find the papers!" Cloud let out a sob and pulled Sephiroth's head close to his chest. Didn't Zack understand? Every _second_ Sephiroth spent in this state was stripping away all the progress they had made. He needed to know what set him off, _now_. Not in five minutes.

"Got 'em. Cloud, he's got orders to go to the lab for his annual health check and mako booster."

"No. Just no. Not if it upsets him this much."

"Cloud, he's got to," Zack said, sounding apologetic. "All of us have to. We need regular mako treatments to stay healthy. His body will get imbalanced and start eating itself if he doesn't; you don't want that."

"Shit!" Cloud rubbed Sephiroth's back, completely at a loss about what to do. "Zack, I – I don't – I'm just a kid, Zack. What do I do?" He didn't know about mako or SOLDIERs or bodies fucking _eating themselves!_

"Cloud, calm down. We've gotten him to go before, we can do it again."

"You're fucking _useless_!" he screamed into the phone before chucking it across the room. They'd 'gotten him to go'. Sounded like they dragged him there through brute force, despite him being terrified. They _weren't_ doing that again.

Cloud took a big gulp of air and wiped his eyes. Sephiroth needed him. He needed to be a brave toy and get him through this. He could think of something.

"Sephiroth," he said gently, stroking the side of his friend's face, "I know you're scared, Sephiroth. I understand now. Do they hurt you at the lab?"

Sephiroth blinked at him and nodded, fresh tears streaming down his face.

"Shh, it's okay." Cloud wondered how many of the stories he had heard about the labs were true. Shit, he shouldn't have hung up on Zack; he needed more information. He took another deep breath and hoped he would be able to keep the promises he was about to make. "Sephiroth, Zack says you have to go, or you'll get sick, but I'm not going to let you go alone. I don't care what anybody says, you're allowed to bring your toy with you to a medical place when you're scared."

"Wi—with?" Sephiroth paused in chewing on his lip as he spoke.

"Yes, I'm going to go with you. I don't know what happens during the annual check-up, but I'm going to find out. I won't let them hurt you. Promise."

"They – they cut."

"They cut you? Like... like an operation?"

Sephiroth nodded and went back to worrying his lip. "Awake."

"Sephiroth! They are _not_ going to operate on you while you're awake! I won't let them! I don't care how necessary they say it is, that is _not_ happening. Do you understand? Don't even think about worrying about that because it will never, ever happen again." Cloud clutched tightly to Sephiroth's shoulders, trying to keep himself calm. That would _not_ happen. He wouldn't let them.

"No?"

"No, never again. Clouds don't let nasty people cut up their owners. Okay? So stop biting your lip. I'm going to find out what is _supposed_ to happen, and that's all they'll do. There'll be nothing to be scared of."

Sephiroth stopped chewing his lip again and pulled Cloud further into his lap. "Come with?"

"Yep." Cloud snuggled up close. "I'm definitely coming with you."

"Still scared."

"I know, I'm a bit scared too. But we can be brave if we've got each other, right?"

"Right." Sephiroth squeezed him tightly and held him in trembling arms until Cloud's legs had fallen asleep and the windows were dark.

***

A blaring noise jerked Angeal out of his sleep and he fumbled for his PHS, groaning when he saw the caller ID. "Sephiroth..."

"It's Cloud, Angeal. Sorry to bother you, but I need your help."

"Are you all right? Did something happen?" Angeal struggled to sit up, not sure why exactly Cloud would call _him_ if he was in trouble. He was well aware that Cloud didn't like him.

"I'm fine, but Sephiroth has to go into the lab for his annual health check and mako, umm... booster." There was a pause and Angeal heard the scratching of a pen. "He's really scared about it, so I'm going with him, but –"

"They're not going to be happy about that, Cloud. What goes on in the labs is supposed to be for authorized personnel only."

"I don't care, I'll bully Lazard into authorizing me if I have to." Angeal snorted. Yeah, that kid could definitely do it. "I'm not making him go alone. The thing is, I don't know anything about what a SOLDIER health check is like. I think... I think they do a lot of stuff to him that isn't necessary. I don't want to let them hurt him anymore. So, um, I was wondering if you can tell me what to expect. Please."

"Uh, sure I can." Angeal got up and wandered over to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water out of it. "Why not ask Zack, though?"

"Actually, I was hoping I could call him too and make it a conference call, if you don't mind. I figure that between the two of you, I should be able to get a pretty clear idea. You're also a lot closer, in terms of abilities, to Sephiroth, and I know treatments change the more powerful you are."

"Right, you've thought this through." Angeal yawned widely and sat down on the couch.

"I had all afternoon to come up with a plan," Cloud said quietly. "Sephiroth wasn't talking much, after all."

"Well then, get Zack on the line and we'll sort your plan out."

"Kay. Um, he might be a little cranky. I kind of yelled and hung up on him earlier."

"You yelled at someone? There's a shocker. I'm sure he'll forgive you. Puppies forgive everyone."

There were a few moments silence, then a click as Zack connected. "Cloud, are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you like that."

"I'm okay, and the phone survived the trip across the room and into the wall. I got Sephiroth calmed down and into bed."

Angeal tuned out as Cloud explained what he needed, trying to remember names of things and the numbers that Cloud would need to know. He got up and grabbed a pad of paper; it wouldn't hurt to keep notes. This was looking like it was going to be a long night.

***

Cloud went over his notes one last time, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. There was a lot of information there, but he was grateful for it all. "Suppose I can't be too cranky with Angeal anymore," he muttered to himself. Angeal had been beyond helpful; he remembered the names of medications and the amounts that he got. He even remembered a few of the things Sephiroth had told him years ago. Zack had helped a lot, too; knowing what colours things were would make recognising the sizes of vials and doses a lot easier.

He yawned again and glanced up at the clock: three AM. Shit, it was two hours later in Fort Condor where Angeal was. And he couldn't even feel giddy about keeping him up. Well, it had needed to be done, but now he had done all he could for tonight. Tomorrow, he'd call the lab to postpone Sephiroth's appointment and get his authorization sorted out with Lazard, then see about convincing Sephiroth to go in.

He padded quietly back to the bedroom and crawled under the blankets. Sephiroth didn't really wake, but adjusted himself to accommodate Cloud. He reached out carefully and touched Sephiroth's sleeping face; he could still feel the dried tears on his cheeks and Cloud fought back a few tears of his own. "It's going to be all right," he whispered. "No one's going to hurt you."

***

Cloud smoothed out his shirt, straightened his tie, and hoped he looked presentable. Angeal had been right in thinking that Lazard couldn't actually give him authorization to go into the labs. It required the head of the science department or... he took a deep breath and pressed the button for the top floor of the tower. He could do this for Sephiroth. He had to.

"Cloud Strife, SOLDIER department," he said to a secretary with terrifying long, red talons and held out his ID card with a slightly shaking hand. "I've got an appointment with President Shinra at ten-fifteen."

She took the card from him and ran it through a scanner, then typed a few things into her computer. "Take a seat, hon, I'll give you a call when you can go in."

"Thank you, ma'am." Cloud took back his card and sat down on the plush waiting chairs, too nervous about making sure he did this right to be concerned with the fact that he was about to see the man who had pretty much given him away like a piece of meat. He looked over Sephiroth's orders once more, and went through what he would say in his head, when the secretary called him over.

"You can go in now, he's only got fifteen minutes for this, so say what you need quickly." She smiled at him as he gulped and went through the gilded doors of Shinra's office.

"Good morning, sir, I'm Cloud Strife. I'm Sephiroth's personal assistant." Cloud silently willed his knees to stop shaking; he needed to be strong. This was no different from convincing Lazard to do something for him.

"I remember you." President Shinra leered at him and lit a cigar. "What do you want?"

"Um, Sephiroth got... he got his orders to go to the lab for his annual check-up and mako booster and I need your authorization so I can go with him." Shit! That wasn't how he had meant to say it at all.

"Excuse me?" Shinra chuckled, "Why would I do that?"

"Because, um..." Cloud fumbled with his papers; his fingers felt like they were made of rubber. Okay, calm down, he just needed to calm down. This was for Sephiroth. Cloud took a deep breath and tried again. "A couple of the Firsts told me that last year, Sephiroth had to be sedated and four First Classes had to drag him there. He destroyed a lot of expensive equipment and injured a number of people. I believe it was nearly six million gil worth of damage and compensation. I can get him to go without a fight, as long as I can stay with him the entire time."

"You –"

"No one will have to drag him there, so that means that those four SOLDIERs who would have had to spend their day trying to keep him under control could go on missions and do real work instead. I can keep him calm through the whole thing."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, sir. He listens to me and he trusts me. He'll do what I say. Please."

Shinra tapped on his cigar as he seemed to consider it.

"I've heard about how he can control Sephiroth, sir. He ain't lying. How long's it been since Sephiroth threw a tantrum and destroyed something? The kid can do it." Cloud jumped at the voice from the corner and turned. A man in a rumpled suit with wild red hair winked at him. Was he a Turk?

"I suppose there's nothing to lose. I wasn't looking forward to a repeat of last year's mess. Reno, go tell Stella to get me the forms. I'll sign them now."

"You got it, sir." So that was Reno. Cloud stared after the scruffy-looking man as he went outside. Cloud waited anxiously, unsure if he should say or do anything, until Reno came back in with a stack of forms that Shinra scrawled a signature on. "There ya go, kid. Give 'em to Lazard and he'll get you a new ID card."

"Thank you very much, sir. I promise, I won't let you down," Cloud stammered as he backed towards the door. Reno ushered him out and followed him to the elevator. "And thank you, too, sir, for helping me. I can do it."

"You think I'd put my neck on the line if I didn't think you could? So... you out of your adjustment phase yet?" Reno winked at him again.

"What? No! None of your business!" Cloud glared indignantly. That was the _last_ thing on his mind right now! The elevator dinged and the doors opened; Reno smacked him on the ass as he got on and banged on the door close button. That was Zack's friend? He hoped he'd never have to see him again without Sephiroth nearby. If Sephiroth bounced back from this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter's longer, I promise! This one was a bit hard to split up and cutting it anywhere but here would have been weird.


	3. Braver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional disclaimer: I'm still not a doctor.

"Ready to go?" Cloud finished double knotting the laces on his steel-toed combat boots and stood up, holding out his arms to Sephiroth. He had never thought he'd be in a position where he'd have to wear those boots again, but now he was glad he had hung onto them.

Sephiroth mumbled something around the chunk of hair he was sucking on and picked Cloud up, squeezing him tightly.

"It'll be fine, Sephiroth. Don't you worry." He pulled the hair out of Sephiroth's mouth and gently stroked the side of his face. Sephiroth pulled Cloud's hand closer to his mouth and he let him suck on his thumb. It was just a comfort thing; if it helped him stay calm, it wasn't a problem. "Let's go then. We'll be the bravest friends they've ever seen there."

Sephiroth nodded and mumbled a muffled 'brave' before heading for the door.

The ride up to the sixty-eighth floor seemed to take an eternity and Cloud wished it could take an eternity longer. But when the doors opened on the sterile white corridors, Cloud whispered encouragement in Sephiroth's ear and convinced him to leave the safety of the elevator.

"We're here for Sephiroth's lab appointment," Cloud told an assistant behind what looked like the front desk.

"You... both?"

"Yes, here's my ID. It should have the proper authorization."

The tech took his ID with a confused frown, but ran it through the scanner. "Huh, okay. Wait here half a second while I go let Professor Sahmin know you're here."

Cloud wiped a few tears off Sephiroth's cheeks while they waited. "It's fine. We're fine," he murmured. "You're not alone and they're not going to hurt you."

"Sephiroth, come this way." Cloud turned at the harsh voice and narrowed his eyes at the new person who had arrived. He also looked like a technician or assistant of some sort. "You were supposed to be in three days ago, what happened?"

"There was a delay," Cloud said calmly. "I believe I already explained that when I rescheduled us. Come on, Sephiroth. We've got to go with him."

Sephiroth nodded and followed the tech down the hall towards a room with a metal table and rows of equipment along the walls. Cloud could feel his reluctance in every step he took.

Just outside the room, the tech stopped and turned to them. "Your friend can wait out here."

"Sephiroth, can you please set me down for a moment?" Cloud asked, taking a firm grip on Sephiroth's hand so he'd know he wasn't going anywhere. Sephiroth slowly lowered him to the ground, not taking his eyes off of him once. Cloud turned around and kicked, as hard as he could, hitting the tech's knee at the perfect angle. "I will not be waiting anywhere, unless Sephiroth is also waiting there," he said calmly, then turned back to Sephiroth, holding out his arms again. "Thank you." He wasn't sure if Sephiroth could hear him over the tech's swearing, but he grinned and picked Cloud up again.

"Brave."

"Wore my boots specially," Cloud said proudly, pointing at his feet. "No one's taking me away from you or doing anything unnecessary. Got that, asshole?"

***

"Fucking hell! What's your problem _now_ , you little shit?" The assistant hopped back on one leg, looking furious.

"First Classes need to be screened for degradation, J-cell mutations, and a J-cell count needs to be taken, along with the regular blood work that all SOLDIERs need. That requires a twenty-five-millilitre blood draw, usually two ten-millilitre vials, and a five. What you've got there is way more than you need and way more than you're getting. So hop on back and get the proper sized ones."

"We need to get his mako levels as well." The assistant glared at him.

Cloud glared right back. "Bull. Mako levels are measured in all SOLDIERs' blood work, which means twenty-five is plenty. You're not coming near him until you've put those back. I don't give a shit about that second-rate scientist you call a boss or whatever experiment he thinks is going to make a name for himself."

"You know a lot," Sephiroth whispered conspiratorially in his ear when the assistant stormed off, limping. He had been getting more coherent throughout the day as the tests went on and Cloud kept fending off the scientists wielding scalpels.

"I did my research," Cloud whispered back. "There was no way I was letting them bullshit me about what needs to be done. How're you feeling?"

"Okay... still scared about the mako shower."

"I'll be right there with you the whole time, remember that."

"Here!" A new tray was slammed down on the metal table and both Cloud and Sephiroth jumped. "Is this good enough, your majesty? Can I take his blood sample now?"

Cloud inspected the new contents of the tray. There were only three vials now, a little one with a purple top and two bigger red ones. Those were the right colours, according to Zack. "That's fine, but I'd prefer it if someone a little less angry took the sample. I'd hate to have to injure you because you couldn't concentrate and ended up fishing around in his arm for a vein."

"You little..."

"Yes, yes, I'm a little shit, I'm ruining your career and your boss's career and your dog's uncle's career. Ask me if I care. I want someone else to take the sample." Cloud leaned his head on Sephiroth's shoulder as the assistant stormed off again. "Sorry for dragging this out, but I think he would have made it hurt more on purpose."

"It's okay," Sephiroth said, stroking his hair. "I don't mind waiting."

"Should be just this and the mako shower left. Then we'll go home and watch funny sitcoms until we forget this place exists."

"I want to eat ice cream."

"I had a feeling you'd say that. I got some yesterday. And the dinosaur sprinkles you like."

"Hey, guys, you need some blood taken?" The first tech they had talked to when they got here came over and pulled up a stool next to the exam table they were sitting on.

"We do. Are you going to be an asshole about it?"

"Nope, I'm good. I work for Hollander and he doesn't give two shits about Sephiroth. He's got his own projects. I'm Rick, by the way."

Cloud sighed in relief. "Cloud. Thank you, I just... I promised I wouldn't let anyone hurt him."

"I'll make it as painless as possible. He's... he's not going to try and attack me or anything, is he?"

"I'll be good," Sephiroth said quietly.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about." Cloud rubbed Sephiroth's chest and squeezed his hand.

"Cool! All right, let's get this over with, then." Rick grabbed a big rubber band and tied it around Sephiroth's free arm, then wiped the crook of his elbow with an alcohol pad. "Can you open and close your hand a few times for me?"

Sephiroth looked at Cloud for reassurance and he nodded. "Go ahead. I think that makes it easier to find the veins, right?"

"Right. All right, good job." Rick lifted Sephiroth's arm onto the rolling table and tapped at the veins in his elbow. "Try and relax your arm a little; if you're tensed up like this, it's going to hurt."

"Just look at me, Sephiroth. Talk to me. Can you guess what type of ice cream I bought?"

"Umm, chocolate?"

"Nope, try again."

"Vanilla?"

"No—eep" Cloud let out a squeak as Sephiroth suddenly squeezed his hand hard, but didn't react otherwise. Rick smiled at him over Sephiroth's shoulder as he removed the tourniquet from his arm and attached the first vial to the needle. "I'll give you a hint, it goes with the dinosaur sprinkles."

Sephiroth appeared to be thinking hard for several moments. "Oh! You got mint! With the chocolate chips so I can make rocks and mountains!"

"Yup!" Cloud grinned. Sephiroth's ice cream worlds for his dinosaurs never lasted long, but he had fun making them.

"Sorry, but huh?" Rick pressed a cotton ball to the wound and pulled the needle out.

"The mint ice cream is green, so it's like the ground, then you pick out the chocolate chips and make terrain for the dinosaurs," Cloud explained, feeling a bit embarrassed. Sephiroth wasn't stupid or childish; he just liked fun things like that every once in a while. Cloud didn't want people to look down on him for that.

But Rick just smiled at him. "That sounds like the perfect way to recover from a day at the lab. And you're all done, Sephiroth."

"Thank you for being nice."

"You're welcome. Thank _you_ for not tearing my head off. Just your mako shower left now, right?"

"Better be, or someone's going to have new bruises," Cloud muttered darkly. "Don't suppose you can do it?"

"I would, but Professor Sahmin is in charge of Sephiroth now. The professors tend to get a little territorial."

"Damn. So far no one on Sahmin's team seems to think Sephiroth should be treated like a person. You know, he was so scared to come here, he was incoherent for a whole day. It ruined _months_ of progress we had made."

"Shit, kid, I'm sorry. I'll see if I can at least hang out in the pod room with you. You want to stay with him while he's in the shower?"

"Yeah, I promised."

"All right, I can keep them from harassing you then. Come on, I'll show you where it is."

Sephiroth carried him there, for which Cloud was grateful. He was getting tired. This stupid day was ridiculously stressful, but he needed to hang in there.

***

"I think there's a mistake in your settings here, guys." Rick was looking at the equipment on the side of the mako pod Sephiroth would be put in. "You've got the concentration set at thirty-five percent."

"It's _what_?" Cloud rushed over to see for himself. "Fix it! I want it no higher than thirty!" He glanced around the room, daring someone to argue with him. Angeal said that his dosage was twenty-five, but he was pretty sure that Sephiroth's would be higher. But more than thirty percent was just plain toxic.

"Right, must've been a mistake," one of Sahmin's techs muttered and wandered over.

"Don't worry, Ethan," Rick said with a rather threatening smile at the other tech, "I can fix it for you."

Cloud went back over to Sephiroth and held his hand while he got undressed and a variety of wires were attached to him with sticky pads. Angeal said that Sephiroth once told him they inserted the wires directly into his skin so they could monitor him better, and had been prepared to fight against that. It was a relief that they didn't even try, though.

He led Sephiroth over to the pod and stole a quick glance at the settings on it. He wanted to trust Rick, but... it was hard to trust anyone up here. The glowing green screen read twenty-nine percent. "Okay, in you go," he said gently. "Where's his breathing tube?"

"He doesn't ne—"

"Yes, he does. The difference in absorption rates between breathing the mako during the shower and not is minimal, and not even close to being worth it considering how painful it is to breathe. Breathing tube or we're leaving."

Cloud murmured comforting things to Sephiroth, who was looking scared and cold while he stood, trembling in the tube while they waited for all the monitors to be connected and for someone to attach the oxygen. "I'm going to be right here the whole time. Okay? I'm not moving a single step away while you're in there."

"Kay," Sephiroth whimpered, clutching Cloud's hand tightly.

"You know we have to give him a weak paralytic before we fill it, right?"

"Yeah." Cloud glanced back at Rick, then turned back to Sephiroth. "It's scary when the tank gets filled, so he needs it so he doesn't hurt himself."

"That's right. People panic when their instincts are telling them they're going to drown and SOLDIERs can do a lot of damage to themselves trying to get out. It wears off after fifteen minutes."

"I understand. You can do it, just show it to me first."

"Okay. Just a few more minutes and we'll be ready. Then I'll give him the shot."

Cloud gave Sephiroth one final hug, being careful not to jostle any wires, and stood on his tiptoes to kiss him on the chin. "You're going to be just fine. I love you."

Sephiroth nodded as Cloud stepped back carefully examined the vial Rick held out to him. The name didn't match, but it looked like the same things were in it that Angeal had said should be there.

"Sephiroth needs a stronger medication than the other SOLDIERs," Rick explained. He had probably noticed Cloud's suspicious look. "He's pretty resilient to most drugs, but it'll work the same way it does on the others."

Cloud nodded slowly. That seemed reasonable. He handed it back and Rick moved in to attach Sephiroth's breathing tube and give him the shot.

Rick hooked his arms over two bars in the pod so he wouldn't collapse and then stuck the needle in him. He rubbed the spot on Sephiroth's arm where he had stuck him. "Good job, Sephiroth. Cloud's right here. Don't be scared." Sephiroth's head bobbed as his knees seemed to give out under him. Rick stepped back and shut the door on the pod. "Go ahead and stand by the door; that's where he'll be able to see you best."

Cloud moved up and pressed his hand to the glass as the pod lit up and the shower started. A faintly glowing liquid began pouring over Sephiroth's head and pooling at his feet, quickly filling the pod. He could see Sephiroth's green eyes staring at him and he mouthed the words 'I'm here' at him.

***

The hour lasted just shy of forever. Rick brought over a stool for him at one point and, true to his word, kept the other techs from bothering him. Every once in a while Sephiroth seemed to wake up and he would reach out to touch the glass where Cloud's hand was. He looked rather eerie with his hair floating around him in the green... and still a bit scared.

Rick sat down next to him at around the fifty-minute mark. "Did whoever told you about mako showers also tell you about what happens when it's done?"

Cloud nodded, not taking his eyes off Sephiroth. "They said he'd collapse when the tank gets drained, and not to worry because it's normal. Then I'll have to step back while he's taken out. They need to check his vitals and unhook him from everything. He'll be pretty out of it for a little while, but he just needs to get showered off, then I can take him home. They said that I could probably be the one to shower him. I don't want someone else doing it."

"I don't see why you can't do that. You'd have to be careful not to directly touch him too much, but I'll get you some gloves and an apron." Rick stood and then paused. "How do you know all this, by the way? Your clearance just said you're a personal assistant."

"It does? It should say I'm a toy too. I'll get them to fix it. Angeal Hewley and Zack Fair told me and I pulled all-nighters memorising it. I made them tell me everything they know about SOLDIER treatments, which is quite a lot, especially Angeal."

"A toy?"

"Yep. Sephiroth's chocobo toy. Five more minutes, Sephiroth. Five more minutes and you're done." He could have sworn Sephiroth smiled at him, though he knew he was probably stretching it. It'd be hard to smile with that tube in his mouth.

***

"...thinking we should go for a picnic sometime. The weather's been so nice lately. What do you think? We could go out to the bluffs not far from the city and make a day of it. I always liked –"

Sephiroth's head jerked reflexively. Where was he? Had he dozed off?

"Hey, Sephiroth. Can you hear me?"

He blinked at the ceiling above him. This was... he knew this... he didn't like this place. Why was he wet? He struggled to sit up.

"Shh, shh, it's okay." Cloud's face appeared in his line of sight and Sephiroth felt himself calm. Right, Cloud was with him. Just like he said. "I'm just rinsing out your hair and then I'll get you dried off and we'll go home. Are you feeling okay?"

Sephiroth nodded slowly and tried to sit up a little. He was on one of those chairs they used for the unconscious SOLDIERs they had to shower off. Cloud looked funny in a rubber apron and boots with big gloves up past his elbows.

"Hey, don't you laugh at me, mister. You're lucky I didn't have to wear the HAZMAT suit. How scary would _that_ be to wake up to?"

Sephiroth tried to say that it would be scary, but it just came out as a mumble. He glanced around, looking for the scientists who would inevitably be looming nearby. But there were none.

"Rr—" Sephiroth wiggled his jaw and tried again. "Wrr?"

"Whirr?" Cloud looked at him questioningly as he hung up the shower nozzle.

"Werr?"

"Oh! Where? You're still in the lab, sorry. But we're almost done. You did really well today, Sephiroth. You were so brave. I'm proud of you. Let me just squeeze out your hair... damn you've got a lot – not that I don't like it, mind you. Hang on, I'm sure I don't need to wear these gloves anymore since you're all rinsed off. There, much better."

Sephiroth gave up on trying to ask where the scientists were, and concentrated on moving his limbs. He was supposed to take care of Cloud, not the other way around. What would Zack say if he knew Cloud had had to give him a shower? And now he was drying him off while he kept up a steady stream of chatter. He supposed this was one of those conversations he didn't _really_ have to pay attention to. But hearing Cloud's voice was nice. It made him feel safe even though he was in the lab and couldn't move properly.

"Rick's going to help me get you dressed and into the wheelchair, okay?"

Sephiroth bobbed his head and let his attention wander as someone lifted him up and Cloud pulled a pair of pants over his legs. He couldn't quite believe he was almost out of here and no one had cut him open or made him run until he collapsed or shocked him. He _wouldn't_ have believed it, except it had still been unpleasant and the mako shower had been awful, as usual. Except not quite as much, since Cloud had been there every time he had managed to open his eyes. That had been nice. The moving sensation as he was rolled down the hallway was nice too, and he felt his eyes drifting shut. "Thannyu, Clou..." he mumbled sleepily.

***

"You... didn't get the samples." The professor's fist tightened around the sheet of paper he had been handed. "You didn't do _any_ of the tests I ordered! What the hell _did_ you do?"

Ethan took a step back from the raging scientist, still limping slightly. "It was that kid he brought with him. He knew everything that needs to be done during the other SOLDIER's checks and he wouldn't let us do more than that."

"You let some _kid_ stop you from doing the tests? This was going to be our big break, you _idiot!_ The fat bastard only lets us bring Sephiroth to the lab once a year now because of all the damage he causes and you just let him walk out without getting _anything!_ " Sahmin picked up a beaker full of something and threw it at the wall. The liquid hissed and bubbled as it dripped down.

"We couldn't do anything, sir! He had the authorization to be here and he wouldn't listen to anything we said. He kept threatening to let Sephiroth start tearing the place apart. I called Director Lazard and he said that they wouldn't send anyone down to subdue Sephiroth if he got out of control. Apparently it's the kid's job now to keep him under control. And he fucking kicked like a bitch!"

"You're whining at me because some little prick _kicked_ you? Who the hell put him up to this anyways? It sure as hell wasn't Sephiroth. He's too stupid to even string a sentence together!"

"The president gave him his authorization, sir. I checked."

"Well that's just great, isn't it? I may as well be a family doctor, checking if the company moron has the sniffles. That kid needs to go."

"But... the president... that means the Turks –"

"Get out!" Sahmin threw another beaker, this time at Ethan, and he dodged, ducking out into the corridor.

"What's got his panties in a bunch?" That smug asshole, Rick, was sipping a cup of coffee. "I thought he'd be happy; we don't have to put three-quarters of our experiments on hold while we repair the lab."

"You know damn well why he's upset," Ethan snarled. They should have at _least_ been able to do the mako test that Sahmin wanted, but Rick had reset the mix as well as the concentration, giving Sephiroth the regular one and ruining their last chance.

"I dunno..." Rick set his cup down and stretched lazily. "I came into work today fully expecting to get stabbed. I didn't get stabbed. I count that as a win. Sure, you've got a bruise or two, and I hear Seb's knee is actually broken, but maybe there's something to be learned from that."

"You think you're so damn perfect, don't you!?" Ethan yelled. "It's easy for you! It's not _your_ career the kid was cock-blocking!" He shoved Rick out of the way and stormed down the hallway. When Project J had been handed to Professor Sahmin after Hojo's unfortunate demise, it had been a dream come true. And now it was like Sahmin said; they were checking him for the fucking sniffles. Rick wouldn't be so smug if it were Hollander's specimens that were completely useless.

***

Cloud shut the bedroom room door most of the way and turned on the lamp in the corner, dimming it so it wouldn't disturb Sephiroth. Although, he didn't think much would disturb Sephiroth tonight. He curled up on the couch and pulled out Sephiroth's PHS.

"Angeal? It's Cloud again. Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was just reading. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, we went to the lab today. I wanted to call and thank you for all your help. I don't think they got away with anything they weren't supposed to do."

"That's great news, kid. So Sephiroth handled it?"

"Yeah, he was a trooper... So, um, there was another reason I was calling. I know it's kind of presumptuous of me, and probably you think it's none of my business or you don't want to talk about it and you can say no if –"

"What is it?" Angeal cut off his rambling.

"I – I was wondering if you could tell me what happened in Nibelheim. Sephiroth has talked about it a little, but he doesn't remember a lot. I – I think it would be helpful if I knew what happened. He has a lot of nightmares and sometimes he _wants_ to talk about them, but he needs to be prompted and I don't know what to prompt him with."

There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "You like these middle of the night chats, don't you?"

"I'm sorry, I just – I don't want to bring it up when he's not thinking about it, and so he's sleeping now, but I could call ba—"

"Calm down, I understand. I don't mind... you just ask tough questions. Nibelheim... that place is hell."

"I know. That's where I'm from. My mom's the only reason I'd ever go back there."

"Your mother... We'd all go back to our hometowns for our mothers, wouldn't we?" Angeal chuckled and then stopped suddenly. "Sephiroth started acting strange the moment we got there."

"Strange how?"

"He became even more withdrawn than usual. He and Genesis... you know about their history?"

"I've guessed. They used to be lovers."

"I wouldn't go that far, but yeah, I think Genesis was the only person Sephiroth slept with more than once. They weren't really _together_ , but they often worked as a sort of... team, I guess you'd call it."

"A team?"

"Never mind, you're too young. Anyways, Sephiroth said he wanted a room by himself, which was weird since they usually would just share one on missions. All the downtime we had, he just spent staring out the window of the inn, looking at the mountain. We knew something was up, but no one could figure out what."

"So what happened? Sephiroth told me something about his mother."

"Jenova." Angeal's voice was bitter. "She was this _thing_ we found in the reactor. There was some sort of bizarre shrine built up around her, like she was a god. Do you know about Hojo?"

"Umm, didn't Genesis say something about killing him?"

"Yeah, he was the scientist in charge of Project J – the project that created Sephiroth – he was... crazier that Hollander and had even fewer morals. He was the one who put Jenova in the reactor and built the shrine to her; he was convinced she was a god. Maybe she was..."

"What do you mean?"

"Sephiroth reacted to her presence. Sometimes I could have sworn they were communicating somehow. It was like he was talking to himself, but someone was answering back. He started talking about how we were all monsters, but that he had a higher purpose. That was when he really got frightening. He talked about taking revenge on everyone who had hurt him, and about sailing the stars. He was convinced the thing in there was his mother. It was insanity, Cloud."

"You didn't know what to do."

"Well, we sort of figured that getting Sephiroth away from the thing that had made him act crazy would be a start. We dragged him back to the inn and tried to figure out where to go from there."

"Do you know what Genesis told him? What made him decide to destroy Jenova?"

There was a long pause before Angeal spoke again. "No... He kicked Zack and me out after half a day of trying to reason with him and said he'd talk to him alone. It must have been good though, because I was _sure_ we'd have to fight him. It took us two days to agree to go back and destroy her. I wanted Sephiroth to stay behind, but he insisted on coming. He insisted that he be the one to..." There was a long pause. "We should have made him stay.

"Hojo showed up while we were trying to get into the shrine to where Jenova actually _was_. He nearly had Sephiroth convinced to turn on us; he told him that he was meant for higher purposes, that he could be a god. They were the ravings of a madman. Genesis cut his head off while I got to Jenova."

"Was she... what happened then?" Cloud wasn't really sure he wanted to hear this.

"Sephiroth was fighting with himself, but in the end, he threw every spell he had at that thing. When she died..." Angeal's voice trailed off.

"It hurt him."

"It did more than hurt him, Cloud. Gaia, I've never heard screams like that. We didn't know what to do. We called for a med-evac and he was still screaming by the time they got there and put him out. Genesis was arrested after we returned, for the murder of Hojo – it was eventually decided that it was self-defence, but he suffered a lot for it."

"What about Sephiroth?" Cloud had a really hard time caring about Genesis's suffering.

"Eventually he was put in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. We were told that his brain looked like parts of it had actually been removed. There was no hope of recovery. He didn't recognise anyone, couldn't speak, he would have violent outbursts..."

"But he got better."

"Yeah, he did. Though he was still... he wasn't Sephiroth. Genesis had been stuck in Wutai the entire time Sephiroth was in the hospital, as punishment for killing Hojo, and I was busy too. I know they were trying to figure out why Jenova being destroyed did that to him, especially why his memory got so bad, but without Hojo, they were pretty much at a loss and gave it up. And then when we were transferred permanently to the other bases, the news about him just dried up. All we heard were stories about how Sephiroth had thrown someone through a window, or this or that... only ever the bad stuff."

"So you just believed the rumours."

"I –"

"Never mind, I don't want to get into that. We can't change the past and he's really happy you're his friend again. Do you think he'll ever fully recover?"

"I've got no clue, Cloud. I would have said no, but he's gotten so much better, even just looking at the time from when I met you."

"Lab trips notwithstanding."

"Lab trips notwithstanding. Those freak me out too and Hollander's pretty much done tweaking us. I doubt he'll ever be the same as he was though, and to be honest, I'm glad. Your Sephiroth is a much better person."

"Really?"

"Really, I don't think you'd have liked him before all this. But enough of that, you've kept me up far too late again."

"All right, thanks for telling me all that. I know it must've sucked to talk about."

"You're welcome. Tell Sephiroth I hope he's feeling well in the morning and to give me a call if he's up to it."

"I'll do that. Thanks, g'night."

"Goodnight, Cloud."


	4. Maintenance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank Lems for volunteering to beta for me. She did a fantastic job helping to get this chapter into shape, especially in regards to showing how Sephiroth's been improving. (Also she helped make Genesis sound like Genesis!) Thank you! Urplesquirrel as always, remains my amazing idea trampoline and cheerleader. Thank you, too!

Zack poked his head into Sephiroth and Cloud's office, checking if Cloud was ready to go. They appeared to be in the middle of their goodbyes, so he hung back, but Cloud noticed and waved him in. It always took them ages to say goodbye, even if it was just a short mission. Lazard had just started telling Sephiroth to show up half an hour early, in the hopes that he'd be about on time.

"Okay, lots of luck with your mission today." Cloud kissed Sephiroth's nose and hugged him tightly. "I'm going to hang out with Zack while you're gone, so if you get back early, you can just call him and I'll come back. I left a note on the board, so no worrying. Okay?"

Cloud was big on notes. They had two corkboards – one in the office and one at home – that he had gotten for the sole purpose of leaving notes saying where they were going. He had spent a few days making custom notepaper for each of them, so Sephiroth would have an easy-to-fill out form with the date and time. He even drew little stick-Sephiroths and chocobos on their respective paper. When Zack had questioned him about it, Cloud had just shrugged and said that Sephiroth worried. He had apparently forgotten once that Cloud had told him he was going to the grocery store, and had panicked over it. So Cloud had decided that notes were the way to go.

Cloud had made a lot of changes, actually. A tech he had met in the lab had given him the name of a neurologist who wasn't associated with Shin-Ra, so Cloud had gone to see him in hopes of getting some advice for working with Sephiroth. Zack knew that Cloud had been reluctant about reintroducing what looked like the science department's questionnaires, but he had eventually caved, which Zack thought was a good thing. He had taken a look at some of the forms and they looked really good for helping Sephiroth start taking more responsibility for his life. Cloud had also encouraged him to keep a journal. Zack had never been allowed to see it, but Cloud was really happy with the way the entries were getting longer and Sephiroth's handwriting was improving.

"Okay. Are you going to have fun today?" Sephiroth was stroking Cloud's hair, making a mess of it, and kissing him repeatedly. Zack was beginning to rather doubt that things weren't sexual between them.

"Lots of fun. Zack's taking me out for lunch."

"Make sure he gives you something nutritious," Sephiroth said sternly.

"I will, don't worry. I'll have tons of vegetables. All right, enough, you have to go or you're going to be late. I'll see you soon."

"Love you, Cloud." Sephiroth reluctantly set Cloud down and patted his head.

"I love you too, now shoo." Cloud ushered Sephiroth out the door and waved until he was gone before turning to Zack. "Good to go?"

"I've been ready for ages, kid." Zack ruffled Cloud's hair.

"Yeah, yeah, we don't like saying goodbye. I'm just going to get changed into my shorts, then let's go! I want tacos!"

"What happened to your tons of vegetables?"

"Meh, I'll make salad with dinner or something. This is my day off. I want tacos."

***

Cloud couldn't keep the grin off his face as he wiped some sweat off his forehead. He couldn't believe how hot it was here already. But Nibelheim's arcade was nothing compared to the ones in Midgar, no matter how hot it got. They were always on the top of his list of things to do on his days off. "So, Zack, I wanted to talk to you about something." Cloud ducked down behind the bar and reloaded.

"Sure, what is it?" Zack was bobbing and swaying, firing like a madman and taking hits.

"Well, for starters, aim! You're wasting ammo! I want to go home."

"You _what_? I thought you were happy?" Zack stood completely still and stared at him.

"Get out of the – shit, shoot 'continue', quick. I am, I am, that's not what I meant. I love being with Sephiroth, I just miss my mom. Aim for the helicopter – no, use the rifle." Cloud shook his head sadly. "What kind of SOLDIER are you?"

"I use a _sword_ , Cloud."

"Well you should at least know that you can't hit a helicopter, let alone anyone in it, with a shotgun. Anyways, I was wondering if maybe we could figure something out so I can go home to visit for a week or so. I promised her when I left that I'd come back to visit during the summe—shit! Bugs! Switch to the shotgun! Shotgun! Cadets get a few weeks off in summer, so I'd planned to come back then. She knows about my new job, but she's still hoping I can get some time off."

"I think we could probably swing that, if you think Sephiroth can accept it."

"I was thinking we could tell him that I've got to go in for annual maintenance or something. It'd make – dammit! Zack, you suck at this game."

"This _game_ sucks!"

"So, what now? Can you dance?"

"Absolutely not, let's do that drumming one again. That was fun. But I want a drink first. And I don't think I can drum and talk at the same time."

"Cool. Let's grab some drinks and a table then. So anyways, I think something like that would make sense to him. I mean, toys like me need maintenance, don't they?"

"Makes sense to me. I can print up a maintenance reminder form and we can work something out. You think he'll be able to handle you being gone?"

"Yeah, I think that if he knows about it well in advance, and knows for sure how long I'll be gone and when I'm coming back." Cloud paused. "And that I _am_ coming back, I think he'll be okay. I'll have to come up with a reason why he can't come visit me..."

"Well, you're probably shut off during the maintenance, and the facility you were made in is top secret, I'm sure. What do you want to drink?"

"Umm... rootbeer, please."

"Rootbeer and an orange pop, please. Thanks."

Cloud took their drinks and grabbed a table while Zack paid. Sephiroth would accept that as a reasonable explanation for not being able to visit. Zack had handwaved a lot of stuff by saying it was top secret. Maybe if he said that they would have to turn him on every once in a while, to check things, he would be able to call and see how he was doing. The thought of going an entire week without even talking to Sephiroth was a bit terrifying. He sipped at his rootbeer, pondering how much his life had changed in barely more than half a year. His entire world revolved around Sephiroth, and he knew that he was just as dependent on Sephiroth as Sephiroth was on him. Well, maybe not quite.

"So, when do you want to go?" Zack flopped down into his seat and grabbed his drink. "Before your birthday? You'll be a whole year old, and I'll bet Sephiroth's going to want to celebrate."

Cloud laughed. "That's right; you said I was supposed to be released in the summer, didn't you?"

"August eleventh was the day Cloud the Chocobo Toy was first powered up."

"I'd definitely like to be back for my birthday. Maybe if I go home in the last week of July?"

"Sure, we can work that out. I'll talk to Lazard about getting you transport."

"Transport?" Cloud choked a little.

"Well, yeah. Were you planning on walking?"

"No, but –"

"Whatever." Zack waved his hand casually. "You could ask Lazard for a trip to the moon and he'd give it to you as long as you keep Sephiroth happy. Sephiroth isn't scary when you're around. You're a valuable asset to the team; you have a right to transportation."

"I guess it's good to know I'm appreciated. So... think I can wrangle a dramatic arrival on a helicopter?"

"That'd put everyone who bullied you in their place, huh?"

"Yeah..." Shit, he was going to have to – no. He wasn't a failure. He didn't drop out of the cadet program. He was Sephiroth's assistant. He had been chosen. It was a good career. Probably no one back home knew that Sephiroth no longer had a rank, so he could get away with adding the 'General' on there, too. And if he got his way, he'd get Sephiroth his rank back soon.

"Sorry, Cloud, I didn't mean to bring it up." Zack reached out and laid his hand on his.

"S'okay. The most dramatic thing would probably be me getting carried out of the helicopter, too sick to move. I get motion sickness."

"Well, be prepared to be sick, then. 'Cause I'm thinking chopper to Corel, then we'll get someone to drive you the rest of the way. We've got lots of troops moving in and out of Corel, so Lazard'll be able to get you on with one of those trips, but no one goes to Nibelheim anymore."

"I can do it. Walking would take too long." Cloud drained the last of his drink. "Let's go drum! Sephiroth's gonna be home soon and I want to get a few more games in."

***

Sephiroth peered into the mailbox and smiled when he saw a letter. It was always exciting getting mail. He grabbed the letter out of the box and turned it over. It was addressed to him; it looked like an official letter and was from the Shin-Ra Merchandising Division. The envelope scraps dropped to the floor as Sephiroth tore into it. Why would they send him a letter?

 _Dear Sephiroth,_

 _It's nearly time for your Cloud the Chocobo Toy's annual maintenance and repairs! Regular maintenance is required to keep your Cloud in top working condition. Maintenance is performed at the Shin-Ra Merchandising Division's factory, for the best possible service. It takes approximately one week, including transportation times. A list of dates available has been provided, please pick the one that works best for you, and contact us with your decision as soon as possible._

 _Your Cloud will be picked up from your residence in the morning on the Sunday of your choosing, and returned on the following Saturday afternoon. This delivery service is provided free of charge._

 _Included is a short questionnaire about your Cloud's performance and general working condition. Please feel free to include any comments or suggestions you have, as this will enable us to better serve you in the future._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Kuhaku Shiroki  
Department Head  
Shin-Ra Merchandising Division_

Maintenance? That... yes, Cloud probably would need maintenance, but a whole week? He folded the letter back up and jogged to the elevator.

"Cloud?" Sephiroth threw the door open and rushed into the kitchen, where Cloud was starting dinner.

"Shut the door, Sephiroth," Cloud reminded him. "What's up?"

Sephiroth grumbled and went back to close and lock the door properly. "I got a letter just now. The merchandising people want you to come in for maintenance."

"So soon?" Cloud rinsed off his hands and dried them, then took the letter from Sephiroth to read. "Maybe they wanted me to be able to spend my birthday with you, so they want me to come in a bit early."

"So... you – you have to go?" A tiny part of Sephiroth had been hoping that maybe Cloud would say that it was a mistake.

"'Fraid so. Maintenance is important. But it's only a week, that'll be okay, right?" Sephiroth hesitated and Cloud continued, "We'll give Zack a call and ask if he can hang out with you more often while I'm gone. That'd be nice, being able to spend some time with him, wouldn't it?"

"I – I guess..."

"It sucks, though, doesn't it? I don't want to have to leave you for a whole week."

Sephiroth nodded glumly. "I don't want you to go."

"I know." Cloud brushed Sephiroth's hair aside and laid a hand on his cheek. "But I have to. I'm pretty certain you won't be allowed to visit me; they were really strict about that before I came here, but I'm sure I'll be able to call when they power me up for tests."

"Calling would be good. Wait... tests? Do they hurt you?" Visions of Cloud in a lab, strapped to a table danced through Sephiroth's mind.

"No, the tests don't hurt at all. Neither does the maintenance. Don't worry."

"That's good. I don't want them to hurt you."

"They won't, I promise. They're just going to make sure I'm in good working order and everything's running like it should. So how about we take a look at these dates and see when would be good?"

"All right," Sephiroth said reluctantly, taking the paper back from Cloud. "You have a birthday?" What Cloud had said earlier finally dawned on him.

"It's in August. The eleventh. So if I can be back before then, that would be good. I'd like to celebrate it with you."

"I want to celebrate it with you too! We'll have cake!"

Cloud laughed, "Okay, that'll be fun. So how about I go this week, then?" Cloud pointed at the third option, which had him leaving on July twenty-fourth.

"I guess that'll be okay."

"All right. How about you fill out that form they sent you – make sure you give me good marks!" Cloud grinned. "Just kidding. Make sure you tell the truth, so we can fix any problems. I'll call them tomorrow and tell them when to come get me."

"And... you'll... you'll come back, right?"

"Of course I will. I'm going to miss you so much. I'll call every day, okay?"

"Okay, I'd like that."

"All right, I'm going to go finish making dinner, and you work on that form."

Sephiroth nodded and went to sit down at the table. Cloud followed a few seconds later and held out a pen. "Thanks," Sephiroth said.

"No problem. Call if you need any help." Cloud headed back to the kitchen and the sound of chopping soon followed.

***

Sephiroth frowned at the paper in front of him. This was _hard_! He wanted to give Cloud 'excellent' scores on everything, but he was supposed to give suggestions and tell them what to improve. It was just... Cloud _was_ an excellent companion, an excellent cook, an excellent conversationalist, and an excellent everything else too! Well, he could at least circle 'not applicable' for his sexual performance, since Cloud was still in his adjustment phase. At least it wasn't another excellent.

Sephiroth ground his teeth, thinking hard. What problems had they had? After he got the manual, things were pretty easy. Before though, that was a bit tricky. He thought back to the first night he had had Cloud... that would be a good suggestion! Sephiroth picked up his pen and wrote in the comments section:

 _I don't think that Cloud not being able to speak properly when he is upset is a good feature. I didn't have a manual and didn't know that he would be damaged when I tried to touch below his waist. Cloud had a hard time telling me that it was bad and I almost damaged him. I think that should be fixed so he can talk when he's upset._

There! That was a good suggestion. That voice thing wasn't much of a feature at all, if that was what it was meant to be. How were people supposed to know that they shouldn't do something if their Clouds couldn't tell them?

"Cloud?" Sephiroth gathered up the papers and took them to the kitchen. "I answered the questions and put one suggestion in. Do you think that's good enough?"

"Yeah, that should be fine. Were the questions hard?" Cloud took a spoonful of soup and blew on it, then held it up for Sephiroth to taste. "Any good?"

Sephiroth nodded. "It's good."

"Sweet! Let's give it another fifteen minutes to simmer, then we can eat." Cloud held out his arms for Sephiroth to pick him up. "So? How were the questions?"

"Mmm..." Sephiroth hummed and leaned against the counter, absently scratching Cloud's scalp. "They were a bit hard. I think you're good at everything you do. I don't know if I was..." He paused, trying to think of the word.

"Objective?" Cloud suggested.

"Yeah, objective. See? You're good at it."

"Thanks, I'm glad you're happy with me." Cloud flapped his hands suddenly. "Boiling over! Boiling over!"

Sephiroth glanced over at the hissing stove and hurriedly carried Cloud over to it so he could take the pot's lid off. "Maybe I should write that down on the comments: you let pots boil over."

"Don't you dare! It was the pot's fault!"

***

"All right, Sephiroth, let's go." Zack touched Sephiroth's arm and pulled him away from the front doors of the lobby where he had said goodbye to Cloud. "He'll be back before you know it, don't worry."

"'Kay." Sephiroth pulled his gaze away from where he had last seen Cloud and trudged after Zack, who walked extra slowly so Sephiroth would keep up with him.

"C'mon, we can have fun while he's gone, can't we? Want to watch some movies today? Cloud left me with a bunch he said you really like."

Zack had brought his things over to Sephiroth's apartment that morning, and Cloud had handed him a laundry list of instructions. They included an outline of their daily routine and things to watch for with Sephiroth's mood. He also had a list of things Sephiroth liked to do depending on his mood. Movies with happy endings were Cloud's go-to distraction when Sephiroth was feeling down.

"I guess," Sephiroth said with a sigh and slumped against the wall of the elevator. "When does he get back?"

Zack sighed and patted Sephiroth on the shoulder, resigning himself to getting this question a lot. At least he wasn't angry or combative like he used to be, before Cloud came along. "Saturday. He'll be back in a week."

It was going to be a _long_ week.

***

"Sephiroth, we need to go to the training room now." Zack poked Sephiroth in the side and got him to look away from the window. The poor guy had been moping for four days straight; the only breaks from his depression were when Cloud called each night, and for about an hour afterwards. Zack used that time to get him to take a shower and get into bed. At least he was eating. Zack had to admit he had been a bit worried about that at first, but if he put food in front of Sephiroth, he would eat it. Though he did complain a lot that it wasn't as good as what Cloud would make.

"Sephiroth, come on, don't you want to go fight some programs? I heard they've got a really good one for you to test out."

"Yeah." Sephiroth pushed himself to his feet and trailed after Zack, who went back to grab Masamune for him.

A small cluster of scientists were milling around the training room's computer, either waiting to test out their new program or, in Professor Sahmin's case, waiting to gather data from Sephiroth's performance.

"Sephiroth," Zack instructed, "You're going to be fighting a series of five battles, one right after the other, okay?"

"'Kay." Sephiroth absently drew Masamune and wandered over to the door. "Hurry up and open it. I want to go home."

"They might be kind of tough, so make sure you pay attention." Zack was a bit worried; they had designed this program based on the improvements Sephiroth was making at focusing in battle. He wasn't sure if Sephiroth would be able to do it if he was relying on his speed and muscle memory to compensate for his head being off in the clouds.

"I'm paying attention, Zack. Come on."

"All right, I think they're ready to start. Go on in." Zack waved Sephiroth through as the door opened, then went back to the scientists so he could watch.

"He's really well behaved today," Professor Sahmin remarked from behind his clipboard.

"Yeah, he'll do pretty much anything I tell him while Cloud's gone. He's just depressed as hell." Sephiroth was going through the motions of the fight, but he wasn't putting his heart into it at all. Still, he was breezing through the programs like nobody's business.

"Interesting..." Sahmin scribbled something down. "So he hasn't been violent?"

"Nah, I think he can't be bothered. He'd rather count down the seconds until Cloud gets back."

"How long will it be?"

"Two more sleeps. Oh, sorry, he gets back on Saturday. I'm used to counting sleeps now."

"That's not much time..."

"No, not much longer. We're going out on a mission tomorrow; I'm hoping that'll take the whole day, and Saturday I think will be spent being excited."

"You know, we missed a few important tests during his ann—"

"Ho no! You want Sephiroth back in the labs, you talk to Cloud first. He'd murder me if I sent him up there when he wasn't around." Zack chuckled and punched the professor on the arm. "Cloud's a scary little chocobo; I'm not taking him on."

***

"What time is it now, Zack?"

Zack sighed and looked at his watch. "Nine forty-two. He gets back at three. Why don't we watch some TV?"

"I don't want to. I want Cloud back!"

"I know, but wanting him back won't make him come back any faster. You've survived this long, you can wait a few more hours." Zack turned the TV on, hoping it might distract Sephiroth somewhat. "Do you want something to eat? You haven't had breakfast yet." There was no response from Sephiroth. "Cloud's going to be upset if he comes back and you haven't eaten."

"You're not good at cooking, Zack," Sephiroth whined.

"I know, but I'm doing the best I can. You need to eat something. How about a sandwich, at least? I can't screw up a sandwich."

"Fine." Sephiroth curled himself into a ball and glared at the television.

Getting Sephiroth to eat killed an hour, and Zack managed to keep him occupied with a show about dinosaurs for another hour. Then Sephiroth was back to asking for the time every few minutes.

"Will they bring him back to the apartment? Or is he coming in a car? Can we go wait where they'll drop him off?"

"Umm..." Zack thought fast. Cloud would be arriving on a helicopter, which meant he'd be coming from headquarters. "It would probably be best to wait in the lobby of this build— wait a sec." Sephiroth had jumped up and started heading for the door. "We've still got a good three hours before he comes back."

"What if he's back early?" Sephiroth looked exasperated. "I want to meet him."

Zack opened his mouth to argue further, but shut it again without saying anything. There was no point. "All right, put your shoes on and let me go get my book."

Sephiroth beamed. Zack was pretty sure it was the first genuine smile he had seen the entire week. Even when Cloud had called, there had always been a lingering trace of sadness on Sephiroth's face. "Thanks, Zack."

"Yeah, yeah, get your shoes on."

Zack withstood a solid three hours of Sephiroth pacing back and forth in front of the doors, constantly checking the time. He was quite proud of himself for maintaining his patience, but hoped that Cloud had _really_ enjoyed his trip home.

"Wha—"

"Two fif—"

"He's here! Zack! It's him!" Sephiroth rattled on the door and snarled in frustration when it didn't open. Zack quickly dropped his book and ran over to trigger the automatic door before Sephiroth decided it would be faster to just go through it. "Cloud! Cloud! You're back!"

Zack chuckled as Cloud dropped his bags and held up his arms so Sephiroth could sweep him up into a hug and begin planting kisses all over him. He jogged out and picked up Cloud's bags for him; he clearly wasn't going to be put down anytime soon.

"How was maintenance?" Sephiroth asked between kisses.

"It was great! They said I was in excellent condition; you've been doing a really good job of taking care of me."

"I have?"

Zack started trying to herd Sephiroth indoors; they were attracting attention out here.

"You bet you have. I didn't need any repair work, just the regular wear-and-tear fix-ups. They were really impressed."

"That's good."

"Did you do okay while I was gone?"

Sephiroth made a grumbling noise, but didn't say anything and he went back inside the building.

"He did all right," Zack spoke up. "He was whiny and depressed, but he survived. So did everyone else."

"I'm glad you and everyone else survived. I missed you so much. I'd have been sad if I came back and you were locked up because you got cranky."

Zack got the two into the elevator before the security guard at the desk had snapped too many pictures. Taken out of context and those pictures would definitely seem like Sephiroth had been carrying some young boy up to his apartment to fuck. Cloud's legs were wrapped around Sephiroth's waist, and while Zack was sure there was no tongue involved in their kisses, it was pretty hard to tell from some angles. Ah well, he thought, if the pictures were published, he knew who to send the Turks after. He just hoped the guard knew that too.

Sephiroth collapsed onto the couch with Cloud pressed tightly against him and Zack shuffled awkwardly at the door. He hadn't thought it was possible for two people to be that close to each other and _not_ engaged in some sort of sex act. Either way, it was way too intimate and Zack was beginning to feel like a voyeur, so he quietly let himself out and shut the door behind him. He'd check on them and see how Cloud's trip really was on Monday.

***

"So? How was your trip, Spiky?" Zack threw the door open with a bang, causing Cloud to jump and drop his book.

"Dammit, Zack," Cloud grumbled. He grabbed the book off the floor and sat up properly on the couch. "You don't know how to knock?"

"Must've forgot. Sephiroth's out, right?" Zack came and sat down next to him, bouncing a little bit.

"Yeah, he should be back in an hour or so."

"Cool! So, the trip? How was it? How was your mom?"

"It was good. She was good. Glad I was able to come home."

"Did you have any trouble?"

"Not really. Some people tried to bug me about not making SOLDIER, but I just ignored them. I've got a job I'm happy with. And hey, I'm important enough to warrant my own transport back home; that shut most people up." Cloud grinned. It had hurt, when some of the old bullies from before he had left had tried to pick on him, but he didn't need to even bother with them anymore. He had gone to see his mom, that was it. The fact that Tifa had actually been nice to him was just a bonus.

"That's good. I'm proud of you, kiddo." Zack ruffled his hair.

"Knock it off with the 'kiddo', I'm almost sixteen!" Cloud laughed and shoved at Zack.

"Nuh-uh, you're almost one! Sephiroth's really excited about your birthday. I think we're going to use one of the conference rooms for the party, since there are a lot of people who want to come."

"There are?"

"Of course there are. You've made a big difference around here, Cloud. Whether you know it or not. People appreciate that."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. All hail the Sephiroth tamer, right?"

"Right!" Zack said. "So Cloud, I wanted to ask you something. It's been bugging me a lot lately."

"Sure, what is it?"

Zack sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Are you and Sephiroth having sex? It's okay if you are, I'd just feel a lot better if I knew for sure one way or the other."

Cloud stared at Zack for a _long_ time.

"So... that's either a 'how'd you figure it out?' or a 'no'..."

"No. No, absolutely not, Zack. I would have told you if we were. Sephiroth... he – he's improved a lot, but I don't think he can really consent to anything just yet. And besides, he's never given me any indication that he wants something more. We're happy with the way things are."

"Okay, sorry, I didn't mean to... I hadn't really considered that. I just assumed..." Zack looked like something had just occurred to him and he looked guilty.

Cloud sighed, it couldn't hurt to try asking. "Why did – I mean, except for that first night, Sephiroth's never tried to touch me inappropriately. Even then, I think he was just curious and surprised that I was... you know, anatomically correct. So why did everyone think he was going to rape me? And don't try to deny it," Cloud said, seeing the look on Zack's face, "I know you did."

"Well, um, you know..." Zack trailed off, looking embarrassed.

"I know he slept around a lot before Nibelheim, I've gotten that much. Whatever you say won't change my opinion of him now. I know he's not the same person. I just – I need to know, Zack."

"He did more than sleep around, Cloud," Zack said. "He was a predator."

"What do you mean?"

"Sephiroth was an... anything that moves sort of guy. And he wasn't nice about it. He had this way of convincing people against their better judgment. It was never rape, but you can bet there are a lot of people out there with regrets. For Sephiroth, people were for fucking and that was it. I was out on a mission with him one time... the poor girl was still trying to get her clothes on when he kicked her out."

"Are you one of those people?" Cloud asked, curious. "With regrets?"

"What? No! And none of your business, either!" Zack sighed loudly. "I think Angeal told him to stay away from me, to be honest. Otherwise I think I might have been."

"Was he really that bad?"

"Angeal said he was taking out his aggression and frustration towards the lab. He couldn't lash out at Hojo, so he hurt other people. And got his rocks off while he was at it. Genesis would work with him sometimes, picking people up, but he did it for Sephiroth, I think. If you asked me, he just wanted to be with him and took whatever he could get."

"I just... I can't imagine him ever being like that." The image he had in his head of the Sephiroth he knew and the one Zack was telling him about just didn't match up at all.

"Nah, your Sephiroth's a sweetheart. But you see why we were concerned? I wasn't even sure if Sephiroth could understand whether or not you were giving consent when he first found you. I was sure he'd – I mean, he hadn't in so long, that..."

"Yeah, I understand."

"That's why we came up with the adjustment phase idea. We figured that if he actually liked you enough, he'd probably keep you around, even if you slept with him."

"It was a good idea. I'm glad we didn't have to tell him 'no' outright. I'd like to have more of a relationship with him, some day, if he improves enough. Right now though, I think I'd feel like the scum of the planet if I asked him for sex. And I wouldn't mind waiting until I'm a bit older. As long as I still get my private time." The private time was important; being bathed by a person he was attracted to and having almost-sixteen-year-old hormones wasn't the easiest thing in the world. At least Sephiroth was good at ignoring the obvious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I'll draw the notepaper that Cloud makes. Anyways, go check out the first side-story, Results May Vary!


	5. A Day's a Long Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter.

"Cloud, I have a big mission tomorrow that Lazard says will take all day. Do you want to stay at home while I'm gone?" Sephiroth asked as he scrubbed Cloud down.

"All right. There's some stuff around here I'd like to get done, so that will work well. Where's your mission?" Cloud helpfully turned towards him so Sephiroth could wash his front, then took the cloth from him and stood.

"I'm going out near Kalm, apparently. Monsters have been attacking travellers between here and there, so they need me to get rid of them. I've been going really far lately."

"You sure have. They're trusting you a lot more now, I think. Sending you on bigger missions."

"Yeah." Sephiroth nodded his approval and let Cloud sit back down in the tub. "Cloud, if they start sending me on long missions again, what will I do? I don't mind the all day ones, but I don't want to be gone overnight."

"Hmm," Cloud hummed as Sephiroth tilted him back into the water. He had been wondering that too, lately. Sometimes Sephiroth's improvement was a bad thing. "I think if that happens, I'll ask Lazard if I can come too. You stay in inns and stuff overnight, right? I could stay there while you're doing the actual mission. I don't want you to be gone overnight, either."

"Yeah, you could stay in the inn. That would be a safe place for you. There, you're all clean."

Sephiroth lifted him out of the tub and wrapped a towel around him, giving him a hug as he did so. "I wish you could come on the missions with me, but that would probably be a bad idea."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to get accidentally damaged. Clouds aren't very good at fighting, and you wouldn't want to be distracted from the mission because you're taking care of me." Cloud stepped into his pyjama pants that Sephiroth held out and pulled them up.

"Aren't you going to take your shower now?" he asked as Sephiroth picked him up, carried him to the bedroom, and sat down next to him.

"No, I want to sit with you for a while. A day's a long time to be gone." Sephiroth leaned against the headboard and pulled Cloud in close. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is. I'd like that very much." Cloud pulled the blanket up over his shoulders and practically straddled Sephiroth in an attempt to get closer to him. A day was a long time.

***

Cloud stirred sleepily when Sephiroth got up in the morning. He always left so early when Cloud stayed home, probably so he could get back earlier. "Good luck today and stay safe," he mumbled when he heard Sephiroth pulling his boots on.

"I will. Maybe I can bring you a present if we stop in Kalm. They make good meat buns." Sephiroth crouched down next to the bed and gave him a kiss goodbye. "Love you, Cloud."

"I love you, too."

***

"Cloud! I'm back! I got us meat buns to go with dinner. We have to put them in the oven at 220 degrees for fifteen minutes so they can heat up. Cloud?" There was silence from the dark apartment. "Cloud, where are you? Did you go out?"

Sephiroth chuckled at himself. If Cloud had gone out, of _course_ he wouldn't be able to answer. He set the buns on the kitchen counter and looked at the board on the fridge.

It was empty.

Why wasn't there a note? Cloud always left a note when he went out, even when Sephiroth was home to tell. Just in case. Maybe it had fallen on the floor. That had happened once before because the magnet wasn't very good and it slipped, which was why they used pins now. He checked the floor around the fridge. Nothing. Maybe it had slipped underneath. He found a flashlight and got down on his hands and knees; he even got out a chopstick to sweep underneath. There were some old receipts and some uncooked spaghetti, but no note. Maybe the chopstick just couldn't reach or wasn't able to knock it out. Sephiroth stared at the fridge for a few moments; he knew he probably shouldn't, but finding the note was too important. He grabbed the fridge on either side and pulled it out of its space, hauling it into the middle of the kitchen. He searched desperately through the dust and other bits back there, but there was nothing saying where Cloud was.

Maybe it was on the table; Sephiroth was beginning to feel a little out of breath. It would be weird if he left the note on the table; the board was where all the notes went, but maybe Cloud hadn't been able to find a pin. Sephiroth smiled. That was it, there were only those stupid brass ones on the board. They were hard to see sometimes because they blended in with the cork. He jogged over to the dining room table, expecting to see the note there.

There were papers, lots of papers. He rushed over and searched through them frantically. It _had_ to be here! It had to! There was nowhere else he could think of that Cloud would leave a note. But... it was all just bills and office stuff and it was _useless!_

After an hour of searching, Sephiroth knew he was panicking, but he couldn't help it. There was no note and Cloud would have been back by now if he had just gone to the store. Why didn't he leave a note? He always said that notes were good so they didn't worry about each other. Did he forget? Cloud was his rememberer – Sephiroth grinned at Cloud's term for himself – he didn't forget things. So why didn't he leave one?

Sephiroth kicked the couch in frustration, nearly sending it into the TV. He should have listened when Zack had suggested he get Cloud a PHS. He hadn't thought a toy could really use one, so what would the point be? But if Cloud had one, he could call him. Cloud knew how to answer the phone. He would call and Cloud would be able to tell him where he was.

"Cloud? Where are you?" Sephiroth froze as something occurred to him. Cloud would be taken away if he was damaged. That – that was the best explanation. The only explanation. He had damaged Cloud. So Cloud had left.

His scream pierced his ears and made them hurt as the reality of that dawned on him and he collapsed on the floor, sobbing. "What did I do?" He couldn't remember doing anything that would have damaged Cloud. How did it happen? And why hadn't Cloud said anything? Cloud always said if something was going to damage him. _Always_. What had he done?

"I'm sorry, Cloud. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." Sephiroth pushed himself up off the floor and stumbled to the bedroom, grabbing a pillow off the bed. He collapsed in the corner by the wardrobe and sobbed into it, letting his grief overwhelm him. He wanted his Cloud. Cloud would make him feel better. The pillow was terrible thing to hold in comparison.

Emotions were bubbling up inside him: pain and fear and anger and loneliness; they were all threatening to burst out and Sephiroth let out another scream and lashed out, kicking the wardrobe. It fell over with a loud crash that shook the room. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm _sorry!_ " Sephiroth screamed, punching his pillow.

There was a shirt hanging over the edge of the laundry basket and Sephiroth took a deep, shuddering breath. "Cloud..." He reached out and touched the fabric, pulling it over to him. It smelled like Cloud. "Please, I didn't mean to. If you tell me what I did wrong, I'll fix it, I promise. I need a second chance." He smoothed the fabric out over the pillow and pressed his face into it. "I love you. I need you here. Please." Sephiroth cried quietly into the shirt, hoping that Cloud wasn't gone forever. And if he was, he hoped that someone would be kind enough to put a sword through his heart and make the pain go away.

***

Zack knocked on the door to Sephiroth's apartment, feeling nervous. No one was answering the phone and Zack was starting to worry. He knocked again and rang the doorbell. When no one answered, he tried the door. It was locked, but Cloud had given him a spare key ages ago, so he hauled it out and went in.

"Sephiroth? Cloud? You guys home?" The lights were on everywhere and things were strewn about all over the apartment. He knew Cloud sometimes decided they could slack off on cleaning, but this was a little ridiculous. "Hey, guys! Where are you?" Zack stood still and listened; there was a soft noise coming from the bedroom, so he followed it, knocking cautiously on the door before he entered. "Guys?"

The room had been trashed. The bedding was everywhere and the lamps were knocked over. The wardrobe had been knocked over as well and a large crack ran down its side. Sephiroth was hunched over in the far corner of the room, clutching a pillow and crooning softly.

"Sephiroth? Where's Cloud?" Zack took a careful step towards his friend.

"Gone." Sephiroth's voice was hoarse and cracked as he spoke. "Damaged."

"He was damaged? Sephiroth, what happened? I need you to talk to me."

"He's gone. He's gone. GONE!" Sephiroth screamed the last word and threw the pillow he had been holding at Zack. "Why did you take him away? I didn't – I don't – I – What did I do wrong?"

"Sephiroth," Zack said firmly, "Tell me what happened. I didn't take Cloud away. I need you to explain what happened to me."

Sephiroth curled up again and picked up a t-shirt off the floor – Zack recognised it as one of Cloud's – and held it to his face. "Came home. Cloud was gone. No note." Sephiroth shrugged as if that explained everything. "Must've damaged him."

"Okay, Sephiroth, what happened before you left this morning?"

"H—he said 'I love you'. Then I left."

"So nothing else happened? You didn't touch him in a way you're not supposed to?"

"Didn't!" Sephiroth shook his head violently. "Just kissed him! Like always!"

"Okay, okay, I didn't think you would. I just had to check." Zack couldn't think of any other reason that Cloud might have left without telling anyone first. "Listen, Sephiroth, I don't know where Cloud is, but he knows he's supposed to come to me if he's damaged. He didn't, so that means he probably didn't leave because you did something wrong."

"No—not damaged? Then where is he?" Sephiroth stood suddenly, his hands clenched into fists, causing Zack to scoot back from where he had been. "Where's Cloud?" he shouted. "I want Cloud back!"

"I don't know, Sephiroth. I'm going to go call Reno and tell him to come over. He might be able to help us figure out where he's gone. Just stay calm, okay? Sit back down."

Sephiroth sank to the floor and picked up the shirt again. He looked so lost and alone. Zack grabbed his PHS and found Reno's number, hoping against hope that Cloud had just gone out and lost track of time.

***

"Zack, can you come over here?" Reno waved at him from the doorway and Zack glanced at Sephiroth, sitting next to him.

"I'll be right back, okay, Sephiroth?" Zack rubbed Sephiroth's back encouragingly. The once-proud man was back to clinging to a pillow and Cloud's shirt, not even bothering to wipe away the tears that were still falling steadily, even after several hours.

Sephiroth just nodded.

"I'll just be over there if you need anything." Zack pushed himself up and went to speak with Reno. He glanced around; the Turks had done an even bigger number on the apartment than Sephiroth had. "Did you find anything?"

"Sort of. Surveillance in this area went down at ten oh three this morning for twelve minutes. The door was opened from the inside at ten oh eight – and people complained we were invading their privacy when we installed those locks. We found a couple traces of blood just outside the door. Rude's going through all the footage around the building to see if he can catch anything suspicious."

"You think he was kidnapped?"

"Seems that way, since you're so certain he wouldn't just leave. The blood could be innocent and the surveillance system going down, just a coincidence, but..." Reno shrugged. "I don't believe in coincidences and I don't think it's possible that no one out there would have figured out that taking Cloud away would cripple Sephiroth – and Shin-Ra by extension."

Zack wasn't sure what to think of that news – if it was good or bad. Cloud on his own would be a lot easier to track down, but if Cloud hadn't left willingly, he'd be a lot easier to bring back. "So you're going to look for him?"

"Yeah, we'll look for him. Maybe we'll get lucky and find him before the shock wears off and Sephiroth decides to kill everyone." Reno grinned and punched Zack on the arm. "Wanna get him out of here so we can do a more thorough search without risking our heads? Rod's a little nervous."

"Yeah, I'll go explain what you think happened and then I'll try and get him to come to my place to sleep. He looks exhausted."

"Right. Good luck with that."

"Keep your luck," Zack said quietly. "You need it more."

***

"Sephiroth? Sephiroth, hey, listen to me."

"I want Cloud back," Sephiroth whispered softly. "Why did he leave?"

"Sephiroth, that's what I need to talk to you about." Zack was crouching down in front of him, looking sad. Zack wouldn't look sad if he had good news.

"Why did he leave? I love him."

"I know you do. And he loves you, too. I don't think he left you on purpose. Sephiroth, I was talking to Reno, and it seems like Cloud might have been stolen."

"Stolen?" Sephiroth shouted, standing up and knocking Zack over. "Who stole him? Why would – who – why? Where is he?"

"Calm down, Sephiroth. Calm down. We don't know yet, but all the Turks are looking. They're going to find out who took him and they'll get him back. I just need you to stay calm and not get angry."

"But – but – some—someone _took_ him?" Sephiroth trembled with rage. Who would take Cloud away from him? He _needed_ Cloud. And Cloud needed him. Whoever took him probably didn't even take the manual. "What if they don't know how to take care of him, Zack?" Sephiroth asked in horror. "What if he's damaged?"

"Don't worry about that for now, Sephiroth. Cloud is tough; he'll hang in there until we find him."

"He needs to eat three times a day, Zack. Do they know that? He doesn't like asparagus."

"He'll be okay. I'm sure he'll tell them he doesn't like asparagus and that he needs to eat." Zack was petting his arm gently. "Why don't we go downstairs to my place? Reno says they need to search in here more carefully. Is there anything you want to bring with you? Cloud's shirt, of course, and let's grab your PJs and your toothbrush."

"I have to leave a note for Cloud, or he won't know where I went," Sephiroth said. Cloud would be sad if he came home and he didn't know where Sephiroth was.

"All right, you go write a note for him, and I'll put some things together."

Sephiroth nodded and went to the kitchen and found the notepad that Cloud had made for him. There were a bunch of other people around, but they didn't matter. He filled out his note with the information he was supposed to put on it, and added ' _I love you, please come back, Cloud_ ' at the bottom. He carefully pinned it to the board, using a pin in all four corners.

"Ready to go?" Zack asked.

"No one will move the note, right?" The board was where notes went. If it wasn't there, Cloud wouldn't know where to look.

"Let me just tell Reno and he'll pass on the word." Zack disappeared for a few more moments and then came back. "No one will touch it, you don't need to worry. Here, I found one of Cloud's hoodies for you." Zack held out a black sweater. "It's a bit more substantial to hold than a t-shirt."

"Thanks." Sephiroth took the hoodie and held it close. It hadn't been washed yet, either, and still smelled like Cloud.

"Let's go." Zack steered Sephiroth out the door and away from his and Cloud's home.

***

"Don't tell me to calm down! I don't _want_ to calm down! I want Cloud!" People scattered as glass shards, followed by a chair, went flying out into the common area outside the briefing room. "Why is no one looking for him?"

Angeal hurried passed the fleeing people and towards Sephiroth's shouting. He wished he had been able to get here sooner; Zack had sounded more and more exhausted each time they had spoken in the six days since Cloud's kidnapping.

"They're looking, Sephiroth, they're looking. Please calm down. No one can go without a break. The people here are just taking a break, then they'll look again." Lazard sounded about like he was at his wit's end as well. "There are still people who aren't on breaks out there right now."

"I've come to help too, Sephiroth." Angeal stepped through the sliding door. Sephiroth looked terrible, and the others weren't a whole lot better. Zack looked like he had aged a good ten years and there was a half-healed cut on his jaw that looked like it would leave a permanent scar.

Sephiroth whipped around, looking wild. "Do you know where Cloud is?" he demanded.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry. But I'll help look for him." He chanced a half-smile at Zack and got a relieved look in return. There was a plate on the table with a couple sandwiches on it. "Are you eating lunch?"

Sephiroth kicked another chair across the room, sending it toppling through the remaining glass at the bottom of the window he had taken out. "I don't want to eat! I want Cloud!"

"You need to eat, Sephiroth," Zack said firmly. "Cloud wouldn't want you to not eat while he's gone. He'll be upset when he gets back if you refuse. Sit down."

"He's right," Angeal said. "You need to eat if you're going to rescue Cloud when they find him. You want to be able to do that, don't you?"

Sephiroth nodded sullenly and dropped into a chair near his plate and grabbed a sandwich, viciously tearing into it.

"Do you want me to stay with him while you go take a break, Zack?" Angeal asked quietly.

"No, it's okay. You should go with Director Lazard and get caught up on the situation."

"All right. But you're going to let me take over for you soon. You need a rest."

"Yeah, don't worry. I can hang in a little while longer."

Angeal nodded and followed Lazard out of the office, crunching over the glass as they went. They went up to Lazard's office, where the director collapsed into his chair and started rummaging around in a drawer until he came up with a bottle of pills.

"So..." Angeal started, feeling rather unnerved. "He's been like that the whole time?"

"Not the whole time," Lazard said after popping far too many pills into his mouth and downing them with a swig of coffee. "He'll go from crying in the corner to extremely violent in a matter of seconds. It's all I can do to keep the president from giving the order to have him put down. They tried sedating him when he decided that Cloud was somewhere in this building – he tore everyone's offices apart, including the president's – but the tranqs just made him angrier."

Angeal nodded and kept quiet.

"The Turks say they have leads, but it's hard to tell if they're just blowing smoke to try and keep Sephiroth calm. We've sent him out a few times to keep him occupied. The Turks made up a few reports of Cloud sightings. I feel pretty bad about it, though. He comes back feeling like he failed Cloud, and while it's better for us if he's depressed, it seems cruel. Zack's kept him from killing anyone so far, but there've been a few close calls." Lazard sighed heavily and took another big swig of coffee. "SOLDIERs are more useful for keeping Sephiroth under control, but they need to at least act like they're looking as well. _Everyone_ has to look."

"Well, I'll at least take over for Zack for a while. Did Sephiroth give him that cut on his face?"

"Yeah, we tried to take Masamune away. It was a bad idea."

Angeal clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. It wasn't Sephiroth's fault, but... seeing his student hurt like that was infuriating. And Sephiroth had still had his sword strapped to his back.

"Tseng thinks it might be better if he keeps it," Lazard said. "Sephiroth knows he can help or protect Cloud if he's got his sword, but without it, he's bound to feel even more helpless, which might cause him to act out more."

"I guess that makes sense. So we're down to waiting? Either the Turks will find Cloud or the president will order Sephiroth to be killed?"

"Pretty much. We've been trying to keep the damage to a minimum. He insists on coming into the office every day, but Zack's been able to keep him contained on the forty-ninth floor for the last few days. We're hoping to keep it that way."

"All right. I'll go see if I can keep him occupied and give Zack a rest, then. Is he staying in his apartment?"

"Yes, Zack's been staying there with him, though. He's apparently up a lot in the night, looking for Cloud."

Angeal nodded and stood. "I'll see you later, then. I think I'll also try and see if the Turks have any _actual_ leads. I want to know what my friend's chances are."

"Good luck with that." Lazard was rubbing his fingers over his temples and his face was pinched. Angeal felt a wave of sympathy for the director. Six days and no ransom, no word from the kidnappers... what were the chances Cloud was even still alive?

***

Sephiroth rolled over and curled into a ball. He wished he hadn't woken up. Cloud was still gone. There was no one in his bed to hold and no one who would make him his favourite breakfast.

"Sephiroth? Are you awake?"

That wasn't Cloud's voice. He opened his eyes and saw Genesis sitting in the chair by his bed. "Where's Cloud?"

"It's nice to see you, too, old friend. They're looking for him. Zack set me to watching you when I got in last night so he could go help with the search. Would you like some breakfast?"

Sephiroth shook his head and pulled the pillow he had taken to holding at night close to his chest. "I want Cloud."

Genesis sighed and stood up. "I know that, but not eating isn't going to get him back any faster. Have a little faith. I'm going to make you some breakfast. Why don't you get dressed?"

Genesis flicked on the light before he left the room and Sephiroth pulled the blanket over his head. He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to face another day without his best friend to help him through it. "Cloud..." he whispered, feeling around for the sweater he had been taking everywhere with him. It didn't smell like Cloud anymore, but it was better than nothing. The fabric felt comforting pressed up against his cheek and Sephiroth curled into a ball under the blanket again.

"Sephiroth, come on, get up."

Sephiroth wasn't sure how much time had passed before he felt Genesis sit down on the edge of the bed. Every second felt like Titan was dragging the clock hands backwards, making the time without Cloud seem even longer.

"Do you want to just stay in bed today? I don't think anyone will mind if you do." There was a hand on his back, rubbing gently; Genesis's hands were much bigger than Cloud's.

"No. Have to look for him. Have to help." Sephiroth struggled to untangle himself from the blankets while keeping a firm grip on the sweater. He couldn't just lie in bed all day while Cloud was missing. Cloud might think he didn't care.

There was a heavy sigh and Genesis thumped his back. "Then get up. We'll eat breakfast and then go see if there's any news about Cloud. Do me a favour, though, and don't kill anyone today. For old times' sake."

"Old times...?" Sephiroth pushed the blanket off his head.

"Yeah, you remember the old days, right? You used to refrain from killing people for me, even though you'd get frustrated and angry."

"I... I don't know..." Sephiroth remembered Genesis used to make him fight with him in the training room when he was angry. Genesis would bait and goad him and quote that awful play to him, until he'd get angry enough to fight him without holding back.

"If you don't remember _me_ , at least keep your temper in check for Cloud. He wouldn't want you to hurt the people who are trying to help you." Genesis stood and walked out of the room without a glance back.

Sephiroth scowled. He _knew_ that. He just... he couldn't help it. He would get angry and then, before he knew it, someone would be hurt.

"Hurry up or your breakfast will be cold."

***

"Hey, I need to talk to you, Turk."

Reno drained his coffee mug and poured another, eyeing the man in front of him. Looked like a lab tech. "Whadd'ya want?"

"Not here. I think I have some information about Cloud."

He banged his mug down on the counter and grabbed the tech by the arm, dragging him towards the Turks offices. The man went with him without any resistance, and Reno got him into the privacy of his office and slammed the door behind them. He shoved the tech into a chair. "Talk."

"And this is why I hate dealing with Turks," the tech grumbled, rubbing his arm where Reno had grabbed him. "That hurt."

"I'll make it hurt a lot more if you don't start talking, and quickly," Reno hissed. "It's been twelve days and Sephiroth's life is on a timer. Bodies on the pavement outside headquarters don't make for good publicity. Tell me what you know."

"I overheard some of Sahmin's crew talking. Sounded like they gave AVALANCHE the information that Cloud would be alone and that Sephiroth is useless without him."

"What exactly did they say?" Reno grabbed his notebook and pen. "And what's your name?"

"Rick Dawson. I'm on Hollander's team. Here's my ID." Rick tossed a card down on the desk in front of him. "They said that the plan wasn't working and they were pissed off that they still couldn't get their hands on Sephiroth despite Cloud being gone. I guess they thought it would be like when Cloud went for 'maintenance' for that week over the summer; they sounded upset that Sephiroth wasn't docile like they had expected."

"Shit... they wanted... Were any names mentioned? Do you know for sure it was Sahmin's team?" Reno was at a loss. How could they be so stupid to think that Sephiroth wouldn't be upset that Cloud was gone? The only reason they had all survived that week over the summer was because Sephiroth knew that it was coming and that Cloud would come back.

"I recognised both of them: Ethan and Seb—Sebastian. Seb said that Sahmin had given the order to let AVALANCHE know – I'm assuming they were talking about telling them that Cloud was Sephiroth's Achilles' heel, but even if it was something else, they were passing information to AVALANCHE."

"All right, that should be enough. Stay here and think of anything else you might remember. Don't try and contact anyone. We'll deal with this." He left the tech sitting in his office and went to find Tseng. He needed permission before he started torturing the science department for information.


	6. Found

"So the plan is to just let him loose? What if he needs backup?"

"I'm certain he won't and I don't want anyone getting in his way. We'll send in operatives after Cloud has been retrieved to clean up. Until then, everyone is to stay back unless he calls for help."

Sephiroth tuned out the voices and ran his hand along Masamune's blade. Lazard was right; he didn't need backup. He would rescue Cloud on his own. The truck bounced along far too slowly, but Zack had made him promise to be patient until they got there. Cloud was all right. It would be fine. He'd get him back from the people who stole him and they'd go home and be happy again.

"Hanging in there, Sephiroth?" Angeal asked.

Sephiroth nodded slightly in return. He felt sick with anticipation; missions never made him this nervous, but this was more important than all the missions put together.

"You'll get him back, don't worry," Zack said, patting his knee. "Everything'll be fine."

"Move fast once you're inside." Genesis spoke to him directly for the first time since they got in the truck. "They shouldn't know you're coming and you'll be able to take them by surprise."

Sephiroth nodded again. He knew what to do. He wasn't stupid. Sephiroth took a deep breath and felt his nerves calm as he went into battle mode. This was a mission. A very important mission, but still a mission. He was good at those. Reno had supplied him with the blueprints detailing the enemy base, and he could see the layout clearly in his mind. Cloud, the mission objective, was in the basement. Exact location unknown. Guards were posted at the North, South, and East entries to guard the prostitution business.

Sephiroth had chosen to enter from the North, because of its proximity to the basement entrance. SOLDIER troops would follow him, but remain behind, guarding the other entrances as well, until he located the objective. The Turks were in place already. They would guard the sewer tunnels and collect the stray rats as they ran. They would be the ones kept for interrogation. Possible obstacles and solutions flowed through his mind and were calculated as the truck pulled to a stop.

"We're here," a voice called out from the front of the truck.

"All right, Sephiroth," Lazard said, "You know your role. Radio in when you've reached Cloud and the rest of the operatives will move in." The back door of the truck opened up and Sephiroth stood, settling Masamune's weight in his hand. "There's the building." Lazard pointed to a large mansion that stood out from all the other buildings around it, kitty corner from where they had stopped. "Good luck."

Several hands patted him on the back as he jumped down from the truck. He took a moment to clear any lingering distractions from his thoughts and then he was off, moving faster than human eyes could properly register.

Whether or not the door had been locked was irrelevant; Sephiroth quickly processed the information he was seeing as the pieces of it were still falling to the ground. Two guards, not Cloud. Masamune made quick work of them and he was moving again, towards the stairs at the back that would take him downstairs. Shouting began as he took out another two people in the hall, and suddenly there were more rushing at him from a room to his right. There was the sound of gunfire, but he easily knocked the bullets aside and cut through the people shooting at him. He had to get to the basement. Cloud was waiting for him.

More shouting and gunfire. He felt a bullet or two nick him as he made his way through the building. It didn't hurt. It didn't matter. They could shoot him full of holes and he'd still get to Cloud. Still, he made sure to disable the guns as he killed the guards. They could damage Cloud. He heard something behind him and turned, almost slipping on some blood on the floor. There was just enough time to recognize that it wasn't Cloud before Masamune was slicing through the person. Always make sure it's not Cloud.

Once the resistance on the stairs was dealt with, the basement was eerily silent. The Turks hadn't been able to tell him where in the basement Cloud was, so he had to methodically check every room. Most were empty when he kicked in the doors, but a few had someone in them. They didn't look like threats, though, so Sephiroth left them and continued his search. It wasn't until over half-way down the long hallway that he recognized the shape lying on the bare cot in the room, facing away from the door. Sephiroth froze as the door creaked on its broken hinges.

"Please..." Cloud's voice sounded crackly and hoarse. "Please, just let me go. I want to go home. He needs me."

Cloud? Lazard's instructions surfaced in Sephiroth's mind and he absently lifted his radio to his mouth. "Found him."

"Se—Sephiroth?" Cloud rolled over and off the bed, falling hard on the concrete floor.

Sephiroth dropped the radio and locked Masamune onto his back, then ran over to pick Cloud up off the floor. He cradled him in his arms, completely at a loss for what to say. "Found you," was all he could manage.

"Are you hurt? You're all covered in blood." Cloud raised a shaking hand and began patting Sephiroth down, looking for injuries.

Sephiroth looked at Cloud with growing horror. He was shaking all over, he was dirty and much too thin, and he flinched when he moved. It was too cold in this room; he didn't even have a blanket to keep warm, just one of Sephiroth's t-shirts. Cloud wore them sometimes when he got up, but it wasn't enough to keep warm. There was also dried blood in his hair and his right wrist was all fat and purple. Cloud was damaged.

He brushed Cloud's hands away and pulled him close. "Not hurt," he whispered. What could he do? This was definitely more than minor damage caused by accident. Cloud had been damaged on purpose; he would be taken away. Sephiroth shook his head and stroked Cloud's hair gently. He could run away. Take Cloud with him. He could survive in the wilderness for a long time. He could take good care of Cloud there.

But... Cloud hurt. He could tell that just by looking and he didn't know how to fix him. He wouldn't be a good owner if he left his toy in pain.

"It's okay now," Sephiroth whispered, hoping he sounded brave. He felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes and blinked rapidly. They fell silently as he carefully picked Cloud up and walked out the way he came. There was yelling and screaming still going on as he picked his way through the bodies upstairs, but he paid little attention to it. None of that was important.

Zack was waiting for him outside, like he had said he would be, and Sephiroth dragged his feet. He didn't want to, but he had to do this. He ignored the smiles and cheers and reluctantly held Cloud out to Zack.

"Cloud was damaged. I'm sorry. Ca—can you at least fix him so he doesn't hurt anymore? I know you – you have to ta—take him away, but please make him not hurt." Sephiroth made no attempt to stop the flow of tears as he handed his best friend over.

Cloud started struggling in his arms and Sephiroth fought to not drop him. Zack was just staring at him! Why didn't he take Cloud before he got dropped and damaged even more?

"Sephiroth..." Zack finally said. He pushed Cloud back towards him. "Sephiroth, listen to me. This wasn't your fault. We'll fix Cloud and we'll make him not hurt, but then you can have him back. We're not going to take him away for something that you didn't do to him. You saved him. You did a good job."

"R—really?" Sephiroth readjusted Cloud in his arms and Cloud clung tightly to him. They weren't going to take him away? Even though he was damaged?

"I'm not leaving you, Sephiroth," Cloud said wetly.

"Really. Now, let's put him down here, so the technicians can start fixing him. We're going to go in an ambulance, and you can ride with him. Okay?" Zack patted a stretcher that had appeared next to them.

Sephiroth nodded and set Cloud down carefully, still reeling from the idea that he'd be able to keep him. "He's cold."

"We'll get him warmed up, sir, don't worry." Two people – probably the techs – went around to either end of the stretcher and began rolling it towards an ambulance.

"Come on." Zack took him by the arm. "We can go with him. I'm sure Cloud doesn't want to be without you right now."

With Zack's encouragement, Sephiroth climbed into the back of the ambulance and looked around helplessly. He wanted to hold and comfort Cloud, but the technician who had stayed in the back had already started doing things and he didn't want to get in the way.

"Over here, sir." The tech pointed at an empty spot on Cloud's left. "Take a seat and let me get an IV started, then you can hold his hand on the way to the hospi—I mean..."

"The repair facility is in the hospital," Zack sat down next to him as he explained. Sephiroth felt his hand get picked up and Zack began doing something with it. He took his eyes off Cloud long enough to notice that Zack had a cloth or something.

Sephiroth nodded, caring only that he was allowed to hold Cloud's hand, and brushed Zack off of him and reached out for it as soon as the tech signalled that he could. There was a mask over Cloud's nose and mouth, but Sephiroth felt him squeeze his hand and saw him try to say something.

"Don't be scared, Cloud," he whispered. "I found you. I won't let you get stolen again."

Cloud shut his eyes and squeezed his hand again as the ambulance pulled out.

***

Zack kept a careful eye on Sephiroth as they walked with the stretcher into the hospital. He had been hoping to avoid having to go there, but given the shape Cloud was in, the hospital was unavoidable. At least Lazard had planned for this and had briefed anyone who would be working on Cloud that Sephiroth believed he was a toy. But still, he was bound to get suspicious. For now, though, it seemed that Sephiroth was too happy to have Cloud back to notice much else. That, and too worried about him. Sephiroth hadn't let go of Cloud's hand once since the paramedic gave him permission to hold it.

"I can stay with him, right?" Sephiroth asked, sounding nervous.

"You might not be able to stay with him for everything, but most things, I think, will be okay." They went through a door that had a sign saying 'Toy Repair' taped rather hastily to it and wheeled Cloud up next to a bed.

The paramedics were about to transfer Cloud to the bed, when Sephiroth shouted, "I'll do it!" He held his body protectively over Cloud's and glared at the medics. "I can move him without waking him up. You'll damage him more."

"It's all right," Zack said. "That's fine, Sephiroth. You can be the one to move him; just let the techs get everything sorted out so his IV doesn't come out or something first. Wait until they tell you it's okay."

Sephiroth nodded and stroked Cloud's face. His eyes were open now, which was probably a good thing. Sephiroth wouldn't be happy about doctors waking him up. When the medic told him to move Cloud across, Sephiroth picked him up gently and somehow managed to keep from jostling him even a small amount. He just as carefully laid him down on the bed and picked up his hand again. Tears were falling down his cheeks.

"You did a really good job, Sephiroth," Zack said as the paramedics left. "I'm so proud that you brought Cloud out, even though he was damaged and you thought he would be taken away. You did the right thing. Most owners wouldn't be that responsible."

Sephiroth shook his head. "I let him get stolen. He was damaged because I left him alone. It's my fault."

"No, Sephiroth. It wasn't your fault. You didn't _let_ anyone steal him. Sometimes terrible things happen, but it's not your fault. You would never intentionally let someone damage Cloud. He doesn't blame you."

Cloud started moving at that, shaking his head from side to side and trying to move his oxygen mask with his injured hand. Zack moved quickly and pulled it away so Cloud could speak.

"Wasn't your fault," he whispered. "Love you."

Zack set the mask back down over Cloud's face and turned to Sephiroth. "See? He doesn't blame you."

"I love you, too, Cloud." Sephiroth sniffled and wiped his tears away. "I'll stay with you, so don't be scared even though it's a hospital."

Cloud nodded and Zack saw him squeeze Sephiroth's hand again. He really hoped the doctors wouldn't mind their patient being attached to another person.

"Sephiroth, I've got to go check in with Reno. He messaged me with some information about a sewer rat the Turks caught in the sweep. Are you okay without me for a little while?"

Sephiroth nodded without turning away from Cloud. "Did they catch everyone?"

"I'm not sure, but I think so. Don't worry about that for now. You take care of Cloud and I'll be right back."

***

"Hold him down, he's going to hurt himself," the scissors-wielding tech ordered. "Cloud, we have to take your shirt off so we can treat you."

Sephiroth had been pushed aside when Cloud started struggling, so he was supposed to stay back, but Cloud looked really upset. That wasn't right! He couldn't even talk with that mask on; how was he supposed to say what was wrong? Sephiroth shoved the woman trying to cut Cloud's shirt away to the side and leaned over Cloud's head, murmuring softly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, gently lifting up the oxygen mask like Zack had done earlier. "They need to fix you, so we can go home."

"Shirt, it's Sephiroth's. It's all I've got." Cloud didn't really seem like his usual self when he replied; it must have been the damage causing him to act strangely.

"Not all you've got. I'm here now," Sephiroth crooned, stroking the side of Cloud's face. "You can have it back and you'll be able to hold it. I liked to hold your shirt while you were gone. You just can't wear it right now."

The tech was saying something to him, but Sephiroth ignored her and began carefully pushing Cloud's shirt up, slowly so he wouldn't frighten him. Cloud was trembling, but he didn't try to push him away like he had with the others, so Sephiroth kept up his wordless murmuring and very carefully got Cloud's right arm through the sleeve. It was good that it was really Sephiroth's shirt; one Cloud's size would have been too small to do that without damaging his wrist even more.

The tech came around to the head of Cloud's bed and took his oxygen mask off so Sephiroth was able to get the shirt over his head. "I'm going to have to cut the other sleeve. We can't remove his IV."

Sephiroth nodded and turned Cloud's head away so he wouldn't see it getting cut. This was like what Cloud did for him in the lab so he wouldn't get scared. He could do the same thing now. He kept Cloud looking at him while the nurse cut the sleeve, then held out his hand for the shirt. "Here you go, Cloud. You can hold it now."

Cloud reached out with his uninjured hand and clutched it close to his chest. "Thank you," he said as the tech replaced his mask.

It felt a bit strange to Sephiroth, being the one who was aware of what was going on. Usually he was the one who was confused. He resolved to make sure that his toy was comfortable and not scared until he was back to normal.

***

"It looks like his injuries aren't too bad," the repairperson was telling Zack. "The x-rays showed a sprained wrist and three broken ribs – that's the worst of the damage. I'd like to get him cleaned up and then we'll be able to heal him."

"I'll wash him," Sephiroth said without looking up from Cloud. He was in dire need of a bath; it didn't seem like the people who had stolen him had given him even _one_ in the entire time they had him.

"There are orderlies who can do that. There's no nee—"

" _I'll_ wash him," Sephiroth said more firmly. "It's _my_ job. I know how."

"It's all right," Zack said, looking at the repairperson, "He always washes Cloud at home. Lazard explained to you, right?"

"Yes, but –"

"Do either of them look like they're in any shape to get up to anything? Cloud will be happier with Sephiroth helping him than with some stranger. And you need to get cleaned up, too." Zack turned to Sephiroth. "You're pretty filthy yourself. If you take a shower at the same time as you're washing Cloud, you won't have to leave him alone."

"Okay, I can do that."

"I don't think there are baths here, but we'll get a stool for Cloud to sit on – you don't really have the energy to stand, do you, bud?"

Cloud shook his head no. He seemed a bit more aware now; one of the repair people said that Cloud was really dehydrated, so the IVs were helping with that. Sephiroth had given him some sips of water, too, and he was able to talk a bit more now that they had taken the oxygen mask off him. He was quite tired, however, and didn't talk much. Sephiroth could tell easily that he needed to recharge.

"Zack?" A thought suddenly occurred to Sephiroth. "What if Cloud is too tired to wash below his waist?"

"I think that considering the circumstances, it'll be all right if you do it. You know what's appropriate and what isn't. You okay with that, Cloud?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, it's fine. Just wanna be clean."

"Yeah, you're a bit gross."

"Hey!" Sephiroth protested. Well, Cloud _was_ gross, but Zack didn't have to say it. It wasn't Cloud's fault.

***

"Sit here, Cloud." Sephiroth set Cloud down on the plastic chair someone had put in the big shower. It wasn't as nice as their shower at home, but it would do, he supposed. At least it was big enough. Sephiroth carefully untied the gown they had put on Cloud and pulled it off of him, taking a moment to look at all the damage that had been done to him. He couldn't _believe_ how badly they neglected him, but now wasn't the time to get upset over it.

"Are you going to wash up at the same time?" Cloud asked, barely raising his head.

"Yeah, Zack said I should. Is that okay?"

Cloud nodded and leaned back against the chair; Sephiroth noticed he still had his shirt clutched tightly in his hand. "We should leave your shirt with the other clothes so it doesn't get wet."

"No! It – it's mine, I –" Cloud held it up to his chest, trying to hide it from view with his body.

"Shh, it's okay." Sephiroth crouched down next to him. "I'll give it back to you, I promise, but it'll get all wet if you hold it in the shower."

"I..." Cloud seemed to give his head a shake and held the shirt out. "Please give it back."

"I will, don't worry." Sephiroth kissed the top of Cloud's head and went to put it next to the clean clothes he had been given for them both to change into. Maybe Cloud would let him switch it out for another shirt of his later on; this one was pretty disgusting. He quickly stripped and stepped back into the shower stall. He had never actually given Cloud a shower before, and hoped he could manage. The repairperson said he had to wash all the damaged areas that had bled really well – he even got special soap to do that with. Sephiroth suspected that using the special soap would sting and hurt... Cloud seemed an awful lot like a person in that regard, but he hoped it wouldn't be too bad. He didn't want to cause Cloud more pain.

He double-checked that the waterproof tape was properly covering the IV, made sure that the showerhead was turned away from Cloud, and turned on the tap, waiting until it was warm enough. "Okay, I'll get you cleaned up. Then maybe you can have something to eat and go to sleep."

***

It was such a relief that materia worked on Cloud; Sephiroth had been worried that it wouldn't, but the repairperson had healed everything. Now there were just antibiotics in his IV for the big cut on his ribs; the repairperson had frowned a lot when he looked at that one. But he was looking much better now in his clean gown, with no bruises and just the one cut. That one would be healed in the morning. Sephiroth sat in the chair next to Cloud's bed and held his hand while Cloud dozed and he waited for someone to bring them some food. Materia hadn't been able to fix that.

Sephiroth hummed softly and lay his head down on the bed next to Cloud. This place was really weird. It was a hospital, not a workshop or anything like he'd expect to take a toy to for repairs. And he was certain that, despite what Zack called them, the people looking after Cloud were really doctors and nurses. He wanted to ask, but was afraid of the answer he might get. The idea that Cloud might not be a toy was too scary to consider.

"Dinner's served!" Zack knocked on the door before he came in, followed by a technician... nurse. She was definitely a nurse. "I got you something from the cafeteria and we've got some terribly appetizing Jell-O and meal replacement drink for Cloud. Sorry, Spiky, official orders."

Sephiroth looked at the 'meal' the nurse set in front of Cloud with distaste. "That doesn't look like what he should be eating," he said skeptically. "He's too thin; he needs to eat proper food."

"I know you probably want to stuff him full of food," Zack said, "But he hasn't eaten much lately, so if he suddenly eats a lot, he'll get sick. He needs to start out slow. The meal replacement will give him the calories and nutrients he needs. The repair people know what they're doing."

The nurse tilted Cloud's bed up while Zack was explaining, and he looked sadly at his meal. "Jell-O for dessert then, I guess?"

"It's not a good meal," Sephiroth grumbled. But he supposed they wouldn't starve Cloud on purpose and he didn't want to make him sick. He ignored the food Zack was offering him and turned his attention to Cloud, picking up the cup with the thick drink in it and giving it a stir before offering it to Cloud.

"Gross," Cloud said, making a weird face. "It's all lumpy."

Sephiroth took the cup back and took a better look at it. It was lumpy. Looked like it was made with powder that was supposed to be mixed into the water and it hadn't been stirred properly. He set to work squashing the lumps and hopefully making it a bit easier to drink.

"I can do that while you eat, Sephiroth." Zack held out his hand for the cup.

"No. I'll do it." He hadn't eaten since the morning and was hungry, but he could wait until Cloud had been fed. It was his responsibility to look after him. "I'll eat after," he added when he noticed that Cloud was looking at him with concern. "Don't worry."

He got Cloud to drink the meal replacement, despite the complaints, and decided that he could get away with feeding Cloud his Jell-O. Even though Cloud could feed himself, these were extreme circumstances. Besides, it made him happy to be able to feed his Cloud after they were apart for so long. He sat up on the edge of the bed and let Cloud rest his head on his shoulder while he fed him. When he tried to get down afterwards, Cloud held on tightly to him, so Zack traded out Cloud's tray for Sephiroth's and he ate like that. He was just finishing up – Cloud had even had a few bites – when the repa—doctor came back in.

"You ate everything, I trust?" the doctor asked, looking at Cloud, who nodded sleepily. "Good. We're going to keep you overnight for observation and to let the antibiotics run their course, then your friends can pick you up tomorrow morning and you'll be able to go home."

"Pick me up? Can't – can't Sephiroth stay?"

"No, you need to get a good night's rest. You'll see him tomorrow."

"I want – I – I want him to stay. I don't – don't want to be a—alone." Tears started streaming down Cloud's face and Sephiroth was quick to push the rolling table with his dishes on it away and wrap his arms around his toy.

"I'm staying with him." This was the time to be stubborn if there ever was one.

"I don't sleep if he's n—not with me," Cloud sniffled. "I'm _tired_. I want to sleep."

The doctor looked like he was going to protest, but Sephiroth kicked off his shoes, moved Cloud over slightly so he could fit on the bed a little better, and pulled the blanket up over them. "If you want me to leave, try and make me." With that, he cradled Cloud against his chest and stroked his hair soothingly. "You can sleep now, Cloud. I'll stay with you."

Cloud shut his eyes and hugged him tightly before loosening his grip. Sephiroth ignored the sounds of Zack arguing with the doctor, until he felt someone touch his shoulder.

"I'll bring some clothes by in the morning for both of you," Zack whispered. "Sleep well. You did really well today, putting Cloud's needs ahead of your own. I'm proud of you, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth nodded. He was pretty proud of himself too, now that he thought about it. It had been a hard day, but he had gotten through it and helped Cloud too. "Goodnight, Zack."

The light shut off as Zack left the room and Sephiroth lay in the dark for a long time; he was happy to have his Cloud back where he belonged, but he needed to be on the watch as well. There might be other toy thieves out there and the door to the room didn't lock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of Chapter 6 is where the story will split off for the alternate ending. Betcha can't guess what happens in it.


	7. Gravity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience, everyone, and sorry for the delay. I had a great time in Vegas and hope you all enjoyed your long weekend if you got a long weekend.

"You guys about ready to go?" Zack asked when he came back in. "I got your special manual for while Cloud's self-repair functions are running, Sephiroth. And the nutritionist gave me a bunch of recipes and meal plans to help get Cloud's weight back—oh don't you look precious."

"Shut up, Zack," Cloud muttered. Sephiroth had gone to extremes bundling him up for the cold; he most likely looked like an overstuffed marshmallow with limbs. Not that it wasn't appreciated. Being a little too warm was way better than lying on that cot worrying that he'd freeze to death before he was found.

"I think we're ready," Sephiroth said, picking Cloud up. Cloud was also grateful for that. In the event that he could actually _walk_ in all his layers, he'd wear himself out by the time he got to the door from the effort of moving in them. One good night's sleep hadn't been enough.

He clutched the ratty shirt of Sephiroth's tightly in his mitt, not wanting to forget it. The hospital staff would throw it out without a second thought if they found it. At least he could put it down now without having a panic attack, but that shirt had been the only thing he had to cling to the entire time those people had him. He couldn't just throw it away, even though he was certain now that he really had been rescued. He'd take it home and run it through the wash – a dozen or so times – then find someplace safe to keep it.

"Great, let's go then. You probably can't wait to get home and into your own bed, can you, Spike? It can't have been too comfy squashed on a hospital bed with this big lug."

"It was comfy enough, but yeah, I want to go home." Cloud let his head rest on Sephiroth's shoulder and giggled when he heard Sephiroth trying to get the furs on his hood out of his face as they walked.

"Well, Angeal's got the car out front, so we'll drop you guys off and then we'll go pick up some groceries for you. Any treats you want?"

"Mint chocolate chip ice cream, please."

"Do we have sprinkles?" Sephiroth asked.

"I don't remember... Can you get some of those dinosaur sprinkles, too, Zack?"

"Sure thing."

***

Cloud hugged Sephiroth tightly as the made their way to the hospital exit, feeling nervous. Zack had brought Sephiroth's battle uniform and told him to carry Masamune. They must not have caught everyone involved. Zack looked particularly alert and Cloud hoped it was just a precaution. He didn't think he could handle another attack.

The kind of car only Shin-Ra execs drove was idling in the passenger pickup zone when they got outside. Zack opened the rear door and ushered Sephiroth in, then went around to the other side to get in himself.

"Hi, Cloud. How're you feeling?" Angeal asked from the passenger seat as Sephiroth buckled him up.

"I'm all right. Looking forward to going home."

"You sound chipper for someone who's been missing for nearly two weeks."

Cloud turned his head slowly. The hood had been blocking his peripheral vision and, well, Cloud didn't know who he had assumed was in the driver's seat, but he certainly hadn't thought it would be _him_. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Taking you home, what does it look like?" Genesis said, sounding indignant.

"I can see that," Cloud said icily. "What I want to know is why it's _you_? I thought you washed your hands of us."

"Contrary to your belief that I'm the devil incarnate, I do still care about Sephiroth. I came to help him out while you weren't around. Besides, it's a dangerous world out there, little one. You're not strong enough to look after yourself."

Angeal's hand darted out and clipped Genesis on the back of his head. "I thought you said you were going to let it go and be civil. You can start that now. You too, Cloud."

The both grumbled a rather cranky sounding 'fine' and Cloud leaned his head on the crook of Sephiroth's shoulder. He supposed that if Sephiroth didn't object to Genesis being here, he could put up with it. As long as he didn't say anything to hurt Sephiroth again. He just wanted to make it home safe.

***

Zack opened the door for them and Sephiroth toed his shoes off. He sat Cloud down on the couch and began unwrapping him from his many layers. Cloud looked around at the destruction of the apartment rather dazedly.

"I'll call some people to come in and get this place cleaned up," Zack said. "I didn't want to start replacing things before we found you."

"I'm sorry," Sephiroth whispered. "I broke things..."

"No," Cloud said, fumbling with his mittens, then giving up and pulling them off with his teeth. He reached out and stroked Sephiroth's cheek. "Don't be sorry. You must have been so upset; better to hurt the furniture than people."

Sephiroth looked away from him then, and Zack ran his hand through his hair nervously. Cloud wondered just how many people Sephiroth had hurt. And how badly. That scar on Zack's face was new. It took a lot to scar a SOLDIER. Now wasn't the time to talk about it, though. They could make reparations later if they had to.

"Well, your bed's still intact, that's something. Are you two going to be all right here alone while we go shop? Or do you want one of us to stay with you?"

"We're okay alone," Sephiroth said. "I'll read the new manual and Cloud can rest like he's supposed to."

Cloud nodded his agreement. Now that he'd had a chance to process it, he couldn't believe how well Sephiroth had risen to the occasion. It wouldn't have surprised him if Sephiroth had just broken down upon seeing him hurt, but he had kept it together so well. And now... confident enough to take care of him alone even though he hadn't had a chance to read the instructions the doctor had put together... it was incredible. Maybe some good had actually come out of the worst two weeks of his life.

"Okay, there are guards on duty outside, so if you need anything, you can ask them."

***

"So did they not feed you, or what?" Genesis asked as he set Sephiroth's dinner down next to Cloud's special one.

"They fed me," Cloud said around his broccoli. "Just not enough, and most of what they did give me I couldn't keep down."

"Why not?" Sephiroth asked. He was cutting up the half chicken breast that Cloud was allowed and paused to stroke Cloud's hair.

"I dunno, I was so worried and scared... Everything I ate came right back up." Cloud swallowed his broccoli and blinked back a few tears. Worried and scared was a severe understatement. He had had no idea where he was or what they wanted with him. No one talked to him, or tried to get any information out of him. Every once in a while, someone would come in and take some blood from him. They never told him what it was for, though. He kept track of time by his bathroom breaks. His best guess was that they were about twice a day.

There was nothing to do in that hellhole but worry about Sephiroth. He must have thought of every possible worst-case scenario and multiplied it by ten. The destroyed apartment had come as no surprise; he knew that Sephiroth wouldn't stay calm while he was missing and Cloud's greatest worry had been the possibility that Sephiroth wouldn't be there when he was rescued. He was only worth so much to Shin-Ra and if they had decided he was doing too much damage...

Cloud shuddered and buried his face in Sephiroth's chest, breathing deeply. It was okay. He was back and Sephiroth was alive. He didn't need to worry about that anymore. No one would ever take him from Sephiroth's side again, even if that meant never leaving his sight.

"Here." Sephiroth poked the back of his head and held a glass of milk up to his lips when he turned. "Have a drink. It's okay now. We can cry later."

Cloud took a big sip and then nodded. "Yeah, I think I'm going to have to cling to you for a few hours and bawl my eyes out later. That all right?"

"That's all right. But first you have to take your pills."

***

Sephiroth brushed back a lock of Cloud's hair and kissed his forehead. The others had left a long time ago and Sephiroth decided to get Cloud ready for bed, even though it was still early. Cloud had started crying as he was being dried off from his bath, and that had broken the floodgates wide open for Sephiroth.

Now that Cloud had fallen asleep again, after several hours of holding on to each other and crying, he had to be quiet, but he wasn't quite done yet. All the emotions that he had shoved to the side yesterday and today were back full force and they weren't going away again. It was okay, though, Cloud said it was good to let it out. Zack had promised that they were on guard tonight in case the thieves came back, so it was okay to be a little bit distracted. He had good friends to help him out. And tomorrow he would take care of Cloud again.

***

"Is this one okay?" Sephiroth held out another card and Cloud leaned back against the desk drawers as he quickly read through it.

"Yeah, that looks good. Next up is accounting. Did you really ransack the accounting department, too?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "You could have been anywhere."

"All right, well, work on that one next and then we'll take a break. Want some chocolate?" Cloud held out a box of chocolates from the latest get-well-soon gift basket he had unwrapped.

Sephiroth smiled and took a piece. "Thanks. Where are all these coming from?"

"I think they're from people who are glad they don't have to be scared to come into work anymore," Cloud said with a grin. "Look, Dylan in materia research got me the latest _Slums Fighter_. I'll have to challenge Zack to a match."

Cloud sorted through the various piles of presents and cards that had been arriving in a steady stream since their return to the office a week after his rescue. They were pretty nice presents, too. Books, games, and far more candy than he could possibly eat were stacked in piles around him on the floor.

"I'm going to—no, never mind." He could wait until Sephiroth was done with the card for accounting, then they could take the extra candy out to the common area together. It wasn't that he was _afraid_ to go alone, especially not somewhere as safe as the SOLDIER floor, and Zack had told him in private that they had taken care of everyone involved, so he was safe. He just... wasn't ready to be out of arm's reach just yet.

He glanced up at Sephiroth, whose brow was furrowed in concentration. An apology card for each department probably seemed like peanuts to most people, but Cloud knew it wasn't easy for him. Especially since Sephiroth had decided he would make each one different, rather than copying them. He was a lot better at articulating himself now, but Cloud knew he still had trouble, and he didn't think that Sephiroth had had a lot of practice apologizing in his life.

It took about an hour for Sephiroth to finish the card to his satisfaction. By that time, Cloud had gone through all his loot and was curled up on Sephiroth's lap, enjoying one of his new magazines.

"Cloud, can we go to the bank and open that account you suggested?"

"Sure we can. I think that'll be good to get done. It won't make it better, but it'll help."

***

Cloud glanced around the busy bank, hoping that Christie was working today. She had been the one to help him get Sephiroth's new account set up and helped Cloud work out a budget. She'd be able to help him figure this out, too.

"Can I help you with anything?" a middle-aged man in a suit asked Sephiroth.

"Is Christie Durand available today?" Cloud asked.

The man looked a little put out by Cloud speaking to him, but he checked his computer. "She's with a client at the moment. Do you mind waiting fifteen minutes or so?"

"That's fine." Cloud tugged Sephiroth over to the cushy chairs in the waiting area. "Could you tell her that Cloud and Sephiroth are here, please?"

It wasn't long before Christie came out to find them and she took them back to her office. "What can I do for you guys today?"

"We want to set up a trust fund for the family of a SOLDIER who was killed recently," Cloud said. "And, if it's possible, we'd like it to be anonymous."

Again, it wasn't much, but there wasn't a lot they _could_ do, since Shin-Ra had covered up the death and listed him as killed in action. A trust fund to make up the lost income for his family would have to do.

***

"Cloud..." Sephiroth started, and then hesitated. It was hard to have a conversation in the shower, after all, but it wouldn't stop nagging him. Cloud had taken to coming into the shower with him most days after his bath as neither one of them were really comfortable being out of each other's sight for long yet. So Cloud would stand in the corner of the shower while Sephiroth washed. They were long past being uncomfortable seeing each other naked, and yet, it was being in the shower and seeing him like that that really made Sephiroth question it.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth rinsed himself and shut the shower off, handing a towel to Cloud and then grabbing one for himself. He didn't speak again until they were dried off and in their pyjamas.

"Are you—you're not—you're not really a toy, are you?" Sephiroth got out the most difficult sentence of his life.

And waited.

Cloud was silent; he looked at the floor and fiddled with his slippers. Sephiroth could hear his pulse beating in his temples as the silence dragged on and Cloud still didn't look at him. Was Cloud mad? Had he been right? What if it was a test and he had failed by asking? The glowing red numbers on the clock changed, and changed again.

"Cloud?" What if he had broken him?

"I—" Cloud finally spoke, though his voice cracked after the first word. Sephiroth heard him take a deep breath and he finally looked up at him. "I'm your toy, Sephiroth. I will always be your toy and I'll always be here for you. But no, I wasn't always one."

Sephiroth tried and failed to wrap his head around that. "What does that mean?"

"I was a person. I have a family and I came to Midgar to work for Shin-Ra. But then I met you and you needed me, so I decided to become a toy. Your toy."

"You... _became_ a toy?"

Cloud nodded. "You needed someone you could trust not to leave you. I didn't tell you because you were too hurt by all the people who had left you before. I didn't want you to be scared that I would leave like the others."

"So... you're human?" Cloud was shaking a little, but Sephiroth hesitated to reach out to him.

"I have a human body." Cloud wrung his hands together and looked away. "Are—are you mad? Are you going to get rid of me?"

It was Sephiroth's turn now to be silent. He thought back to when he first got Cloud – he hadn't acted like he did now. Thinking of it now, he would have to say that Cloud had seemed scared those first few days. And Zack's reaction when he first saw him with Cloud: _You're that AWOL cadet_. AWOL cadet. Cloud had come to Midgar to work. He had been a cadet. Those long-forgotten, inappropriate for winter weather clothes that Cloud had come with were the cadet uniform. Sephiroth had kidnapped him. For over a year.

"I ruined your life," Sephiroth whispered, the gravity of what he had done was sinking in.

"NO!" Cloud's shout caused Sephiroth to jerk back out of reflex, but a small, yet strong hand on his wrist kept him from going far. "You did the farthest thing possible from ruining my life," Cloud said with startling severity. "Being a cadet sucked, being the bastard kid from a small town sucked, my _life_ sucked. You gave me a purpose in life and you made me happier than I ever could have hoped to be as a person."

"I kidnapped you."

"And I chose to stay. At first I was scared; then I stayed because you needed someone to help you out, and then I decided that I would stay with you for the rest of my life because I want to be with you." Cloud wiped away a few tears that had crept out the corners of his eyes. "I love you, Sephiroth. I meant that with all my heart the first time I said it to you and I mean it now. _Please_ don't throw me out. _Please_."

"I..." Sephiroth couldn't keep himself from reaching out to brush Cloud's tears away and then it was far too hard to not pull him into a hug. "Don't cry, Cloud. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"I don't. I don't. Not ever." Cloud pressed his face into Sephiroth's shirt and shook.

Sephiroth waited until the tears slowed down before he spoke again. "You have a family?"

Cloud nodded and sat up, grabbing a tissue to blow his nose while Sephiroth shifted so he was leaning against the headboard. Cloud didn't hesitate to curl up next to him, though Sephiroth was a little unsure if it was all right. He quickly decided that if Cloud was fine with it, he was too, and pulled the blankets up over them. Kidnapping Cloud had been wrong, but... he didn't want give up what they had. Cloud was his Cloud.

"Just my mom," Cloud said. "She lives in—I'm from... I'm from Nibelheim."

"Nibelheim?" The hand that had automatically begun stroking Cloud's hair paused. "I don't like Nibelheim."

"I know. It's a shitty town full of shitty people and shitty things happen there. Mom was the only exception."

Sephiroth snorted and resumed petting Cloud. "Yeah."

They fell silent as Sephiroth mulled all the new revelations over. The idea that Cloud wasn't a toy was, quite frankly, still terrifying. It was nice, now that he had regained some of his old friendships, but there was still a visceral fear deep in his gut that people would leave him. What Cloud had said was right. He wouldn't have trusted Cloud to not abandon him if he had known he was a person. Cloud hadn't lied to hurt him, he was sure of that. And still... he just couldn't shake the doubt that...

"Cloud? You said you chose to be a toy, right?"

"That's right."

"Will you... will you still be my toy? Even though you're not one really?"

"Of course I will. I'll be your toy for as long as you need me to be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I asked my mom how you set up a trust fund and she didn't know. Can you believe it? I don't know what she thinks I pay her for... But I figure Cloud knows about as much about trust funds as I do, and if I were going to set one up, I'd go to the bank and they'd be all, "Are you an idiot? Go see a lawyer." So in the event that you have to go through a lawyer, that's what happened.


	8. Epilogue

"Finally, please allow me to introduce you to the man you probably all aspire to be, General Sephiroth." Rufus Shinra stepped back as applause erupted from the auditorium full of new recruits and gestured to Sephiroth.

"Good luck," Cloud whispered, giving Sephiroth's hand one final squeeze as he stood up to approach the podium. He clapped louder than anyone else in the audience, but squashed the urge to cheer; that probably wasn't appropriate. It was a struggle, though, the sheer amount of work that had gone into this day was overwhelming when he thought about it, but here they were. Sephiroth had his rank back and was giving a speech to frighten the new recruits into years of hard work and dedication – just like he used to.

Rufus had sat down on his other side and Cloud rolled his eyes; the new president was just a bit older than he was and acted like he knew everything. Cloud wasn't yet sure how much he cared for Rufus's style when it came to running the company. He was accommodating enough when it came to things Cloud wanted for Sephiroth, like sick days and his rank back, but he was even more obsessed with money than his father had been and showed even less restraint in how he went about getting it.

Cloud's attention snapped back to the speech when he heard a tremor in Sephiroth's voice. No one else would have caught it, Cloud was sure, but... Cloud crept out of his chair on the stage and, hoping his new shoes wouldn't squeak, slunk down the steps and across the first row of the audience.

"Move," he whispered to one of the reporters sitting front and centre. Apparently coming from a seat next to the president granted him enough authority that the man did as he said and found another seat further back. Cloud took his seat and smiled encouragingly at Sephiroth, who could now see him every time he looked up at the audience. He got the merest fraction of a smile back before Sephiroth reassumed his very serious face, but his voice evened out and he carried on more confidently for the remainder of the speech.

"Some of you will make it to SOLDIER. Most of you won't. It's up to you whether or not you join me in the ranks." Sephiroth stepped down and turned sharply, his long hair and coat cut an impressive path through the air and he walked off the stage. Cloud scrambled up and ducked back through a side door to meet him.

"You did it!" Cloud yelled, certain that no one would hear him over the applause. Sephiroth threw his arms open wide and Cloud leapt into them. He was really too big now for Sephiroth to comfortably carry him, but right now, he didn't care.

"Did I do all right?" Sephiroth asked, sounding a little breathless. "I got so nervous."

"You did wonderfully. I think you scared the pants off them all."

"Good. Thank you for going out where I could see you. That helped."

"No problem. I'm glad I was able to help. I'm so proud of you."

"I think I deserve some ice cream after all that," Sephiroth said, setting Cloud down and taking him by the hand instead. "Let's get changed and go out somewhere."

"Finally! I'm sick of wearing this damn suit. And you definitely deserve ice cream. I do too, for all the hours and hours I put in practicing with you. But it's my treat."

"You do too," Sephiroth laughed, "But yeah, you're buying."

***

Cloud still sat on Sephiroth's lap when they were both doing something at the desk. It really wasn't big enough for two chairs and they had rejected the idea of a second desk. It wasn't uncomfortable – the chair was big enough that he could squish next to Sephiroth rather than being directly on his lap if he had to – they just still got a lot of weird looks for it. And he was about to get a lot more, if he was hearing things correctly. He hastily piled some important-looking papers in front of himself and attempted to look like he hadn't been doodling more notepaper.

There was a knock on the door and Sephiroth called for them to come in. Cloud considered trying to get Sephiroth to stop petting him, but decided he didn't really care that much.

"Morning, General, Cloud." Zack stuck his head in through the door. "Now a good time? I've got the new Thirds here."

"Send them in." Sephiroth assumed a bored face and leaned back in his chair.

Zack turned away from them and spoke to the people in the hall. "This is General Sephiroth's office, don't disturb him unless it's an emergency or you've got orders."

The door opened all the way and a line of big guys about Cloud's age trailed in. They attempted to stand at attention, but a few of them couldn't help but gawk at Cloud. They snapped their mouths shut, though, when Sephiroth stood suddenly with Cloud in his arms. He set Cloud back down and walked out from behind his desk as Zack came in.

"General, these are the new Third Classes."

Sephiroth still didn't say anything, but stalked up and down the row a few times, sizing them up. He snorted derisively. "Humph. I suppose they'll do." With that, he returned to his seat as Cloud got up.

"And this is Sephiroth's personal assistant, Cloud Strife. He's who you've got to go through if you need to speak with the General."

Cloud also walked around the desk, but chose to lean back on it, folding his arms casually. This was hard to pull off with the new troops until the rumours started spreading from the people who had been here while he was kidnapped, but it helped.

"Welcome to SOLDIER," he said. "My name's Cloud and, like Zack said, I'm Sephiroth's assistant." There was a snicker from one of the men in the centre and Cloud snapped his eyes up, staring directly at him. "You know, some people have said that I'm the most powerful person in this company. That's ridiculous, of course, I'm just an assistant. And yet..." Cloud pushed himself off the desk and stood directly in front of the man who had laughed, staring up at him. "The president himself snaps to attention when he sees me coming. You don't want to fuck with me, SOLDIER Third Class. You will lose."

Cloud spun on his heel and returned to leaning against the desk. "In the interest of fairness, because I know how people like you think, I'd like to offer you a warning. You can think whatever you like about the nature of my relationship with Sephiroth, I could care less what you come up with. But do look into what happened to the last person who was stupid enough to air his thoughts in the company of others. I hear everything eventually."

Cloud returned to his spot on Sephiroth's lap and felt the confused stares burning into his back as he went. Zack had a huge grin on his face, though. "Dismissed," he said, waving them away.

Zack ushered the newbies out of the office and Cloud could hear him as they went down the hallway. "He was totally lying when he said that he's not the most powerful person in the company, by the way. He keeps joking that one day he's going to go mad with the power and I, for one, plan to be on the other side of the planet when that day comes. Also, he outranks you. Best to not forget that."

Cloud chuckled as he snuggled up into Sephiroth's lap, planting a kiss on his chin. "Did I sound scary?"

"I still don't think you're scary, but I suppose if you weren't mine, I might have."

"You're such a jerk," Cloud grumbled. "I work hard on that speech. It's not easy being intimidating when the people you're talking to have twice the amount of muscle mass and at least five inches on you."

"Want ice cream?"

"Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth laughed and ruffled his hair. "I'm just joking. You were very intimidating. And you know I'll hurt anyone who insults you. I still don't think they should be allowed to _think_ whatever they want about us."

Cloud shrugged. "We can't stop them from thinking it. We know what we've got and that's enough." Although, Cloud sighed, he wasn't even really sure of that anymore. He wished he knew what Sephiroth was thinking when it came to sex. He couldn't help but notice that Sephiroth really _looked_ at him a lot more during bath time and the effect Cloud had on him was also undeniable. He sighed again and picked up his markers, setting the important papers to the side and getting back to work on the notepaper. He had waited this long; he could wait a while longer.

***

It wouldn't hurt to ask, would it? Sephiroth sat on the edge of the tub and pondered the possible consequences of asking. Cloud had a human body, so the likelihood of him just _breaking_ because of a question was non-existent. He understood why the rules had been laid out the way they were, but it had been three years. Surely it wouldn't hurt to ask after all this time. Cloud would say 'no' if he didn't want him to.

He tilted Cloud back in the tub and carefully rinsed the conditioner out of his hair. He ran his hand across Cloud's chest; he seemed so relaxed, even though he was erect once again. His eyes were shut and he was trusting Sephiroth completely to keep his face above the water. It wouldn't hurt him if he just asked. He had grown so much since Sephiroth first got him; his muscles were nicely toned now and shaving had been added to their morning routine a while ago. He was older, more mature... becoming a toy hadn't stopped Cloud's body from growing up. Sephiroth made up his mind. He would ask.

"Cloud, I want to touch you below the waist. Is that all right?"

There was a loud splash and Sephiroth wasn't sure if he should get out of the way or haul Cloud out to keep him from drowning. After a few moments of flailing, Cloud emerged, gasping, from the water. "Yes!"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone for reading. I hope you had as much fun as I did. This isn't really the end of this 'verse because I totally fell in love with it and will probably keep writing side stories for it until I start getting cease and desist notices.
> 
> I've considered writing a smutty side-story to carry on from the last scene, but what I've done hasn't gone very well. It feels a bit wrong to me, like I'm spying on their private moment. The innocence between them is what I like so much, and while they do have a sexual relationship, it's never a huge part of their lives. Sex just something fun they do every once in a while. So for those of you who were waiting for the "good stuff", sorry, it's probably not going to happen. I did say at the beginning that it was more a friendship fic with the potential for romance. I'm not ruling it out entirely, though.
> 
> E-book versions can be found here: [ePUB](http://www.mediafire.com/?fcykw1dmk1wpqsg) and [Mobi](http://www.mediafire.com/?ofpp0a61n1522vq).


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